A New Hope
by Anette555
Summary: COMPLETE! Bruce Wayne is living a tough life, both as himself and Batman. One night he meets a young teenage girl who struggles with the same problems. Can she be the one to give him and Gotham the hope back? There is an OC, but no Bruce/OC or Joker/OC.
1. The Dark Knight

**AN**:  
Hi, everyone.  
Here is one of my crappy MS fanfiction! Yep, you heard it; MS - Mary Sue XD Lol they are funny.  
I hope that some of it is good and not just bad. But clearly much of it pretty sucks because -  
**1.** English is not my native language, therefore grammar mistakes.  
**2.** I always end up writing a MS fic. That says it all.  
And **3.** Well... just enjoy the damned fic!

**Disclaimer:  
**I do not own the Batman and any of the other characters.  
The only thing I do own is my own OCs(Lori for example, one my main character.).  
I'm just playing with it.

**Read and review or else I'm going to kill you with my magic pencil!**

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 1**

**

* * *

**

It was Friday afternoon and Lori had just come back from her work. Sitting on the couch, she stared at the rain pouring down outside her window. All her clothes were soaking wet and she wished that she had taken the bus home. Clearly that would have been a much more clever idea than walking the fourteen blocks from work to her home, but if she had done so, her stepfather would have been pissed off and called her lazy. He always did, even though he never said anything, she knew that was how he felt about her.

It had been eight years since Lori's mother have died and after that day, he had crowned her as the black sheep in this family. When her mom had been around he had treated her as his equal and sometimes as his own. She had known better and knew that it was just something he did to please her mother. Lori's mother had been the greatest and she had loved her so much.

Suddenly, Lori was dragged out from her thoughts and turned her head to gaze at the large wooden door in front of her. She drew her knees up to her chest, not taking her eyes away from the door. He was there, she knew that. He was just right outside this door, listening to what she was doing. The shadow of two large feet was moving on the other side, pacing back and forth. It felt like her heart flew up to her throat as they stopped moving and as a slow, but loud knock hit the door, Lori let out a silent screech.

"Lori," he croaked. "Are you in there?" The voice was so cold and harsh that it almost turned her into stone.

"Y-yes, sir," Lori stuttered. "Yes, I am." Her heart kept beating faster and Lori prayed for that he would leave immediately and never return. Unfortunately, she had never been very lucky and before Lori managed to blink he was already inside the door. She stared at him as he slowly moved towards her. He was wearing his long, red and expensive coat which shuffled along the floor behind him, and his black hair was lying as perfectly as always on his head. Her eyes were still pointed at him, though she really wanted to look in another direction, she just couldn't do it. He stopped just around a foot away from Lori and her face was so close to his. She could smell the stench of his rotten teeth as he breathed and tried not to throw up.

"Your clothes are wet. Maybe you should change into something more proper," he said dryly, his eyes examining her up and down. "You may get sick."

"And why would you care if I get sick or not?" Lori asked, trying to keep her voice sound just as stiffly as his. "You've never cared about what I'm doing before, then why would you start now."

His face expression changed and he almost seemed shocked by her answer, but then he got to himself again. "Maybe you don't care, but it is today." Lori frowned at him, which apparently made him more irritated. He breathed heavily before he spoke again. "Today it has been eight year since she died. You of all should remember that, but maybe I have been wrong with you. Maybe you don't remember, but at least I do since I am the _only_ person who ever cared her."

"SHUT UP!" Lori yelled, clenching her fists. She felt how the anger grew inside of her body and she was madder than she had ever been before. "If you think that you were the only one who loved her, then you are wrong." Lori was almost whimpering as she spoke and she glared right into his eyes. "Please, leave."

"No," he snapped at her and grabbed Lori's hand. "You're going with me and we're going to remember what your mother meant to me, just as she wanted to be remembered." Lori moved quickly, turning her arms and twisting out of his grip. "Let's go." Lori screamed as he grabbed her arm again. This time he fought against her when she tried to get out of his grip. Angry at Lori's disobedience, he snapped and shoved her into the brick wall beside the fireplace.

"Please, no…" Lori cried.

"Shut up!" he yelled as he slapped her in the face. Lori's head bounced off the wall and she gazed up seeing his fists coming towards her and she waited for the punch, but nothing happened. Suddenly, Lori felt a massive burning and aching on the left side of her face. She put her hand up to her cheek, and that was when they both realized that she was bleeding. Lori tried to run, but he grabbed both of her arms and slammed her back against the wall again.

"Let me go!" she screamed as she continued to fight. He raised his hand, clenched in a fist, and was about to hit her again. But in the second, he lowered his head down and whispered in Lori's ear.

"Think about this to the next time when you want to argue with me."

Lori's eyes were staring down at the drops of blood which was spread on the floor. She heard how he rose to his feet again and slowly walked to the door, slamming it hard behind him. She didn't dare to move until there was no sound to hear. Her hands trembled as she moved herself over to the couch, and then her whole body started to tremble terribly from fear.

With her eyes full of tears, Lori looked up and studied the picture standing on a small table. It was a picture of her and her mom in the Zoo. As she looked at her warm, comforting face and her long, brown curls, Lori gulped past the lump in her throat. The next day her Mum had died. Lori reached over to finger the wood on the photo frame and smiled back at her delighting smile.

"I'm not going to let him take you away from me, Mom," Lori sobbed and pressed the frame against her chest. "I'm not going to let you down." With those words she stood up, leaving the frame on the couch and grabbed her blue coat. She pulled it on as she burst open the door, and ran down the stairs. Hearing her stepfather's yelling, she pulled up the backdoor and walked into the dark, heavy rain.

**

* * *

**

The rain was coming down heavily from a darkened late-afternoon sky. Looking around herself, Lori saw men and women trying to reach the bus as fast as they could. This was because of the rain and what it does. No one she knew liked rain; they only thought of it as a bad thing. Lori had never understood herself on them. To her, rain was the most peaceful thing she knew. The sound of it drowned out everything else, even in busy town such as _Gotham_.

Lori was wandering through back alleys where drug dealers normally were found, but today they were empty in the cleansing presence of the rain. She had been wandering for an hour or so, clearing her thoughts and trying to know what to do later. So far she didn't know what to do.

Lori kept walking up the road when she suddenly spotted something which looked like a public garden. Lori had never seen it before; although it might have had something to do with that she had never been allowed to be in this area. She studied the garden and saw that there was some sort of a roof made by wooden beams covered in vines and ivy. She distinctly jogged into the middle of the garden and stopped to look as she was out of the rain. It was surprisingly little water which made it through the ivy ceiling above her. Lori laid her head down in the some wet grass and glanced up at the dark sky. There were two things that she knew. First, she could not go home, at least not today. And second, whatever that waited for her back home was definitely not good. Lori was just about to close her eyes when she heard something which caught her attention.

Over the sound of the heavy rain, Lori could just distinguish a sound like… running? Yes, it was running, but not only running. It was kicking and when she listened carefully she heard a sound which she had heard and felt too many times. It was the sound of a clenched fist slamming against another person's body.

Frightened, Lori silently moved towards the source of the sound, and stepped behind an ivy-covered beam, carefully peering around it. She didn't see anything and it wasn't before now that she realized that it was so quiet around her, almost too quiet.

Suddenly, huge branches from trees were falling down on her and Lori rolled over on her back just in time before the branches had hit her. She quickly got to her feet, hands trembling in shock and she looked around in confusion. Then Lori saw what was going on.

Right above her, on the ivy-ceiling, Lori got her eye on four persons who were fighting. Even though the rain made it difficult to see clearly, she already knew who one of them was and that she couldn't be wrong. It was him, the person every one of her friends had been talking about. Lori watched him as he glamorous made his moves and the long, black cape followed him as he ran through air. He was running faster than anyone else she had ever seen before. Of course, no one Lori knew was like him either.

The three other men were following him and more branches were falling down to the ground. Lori flinched and quickly moved behind an L-shaped wall. But as she moved, she never took her eyes away from him, not even once. Watching him for so long, Lori realized that he was now running from them, not trying to trick them or lure them into some kind of a trap. No, he was _really_ running. Her eyes followed him as he reached the end of the roof. He glanced once behind himself before he threw himself down to the ground. Lori was frightened and shocked, but then again amused when she saw how gracefully he landed on his feet. He had his gaze pointing at the ground, but as he looked up her heart froze as she stared into the eyes of _Gotham's Dark Knight_.


	2. Not Worthy Anymore

**AN:**  
This chapter is just some sort a complete mess. Sorry, but I just couldn't really think straight.  
Please read and review!

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 2**

**

* * *

**

As Lori stared at the Batman it looked like he was shocked or worried to see her, but he quickly shook it off as one of the attackers jumped down and on his back. The sound of the fighting only made her tremble even more and she watched in fear as another attacker began to fight against Batman. Lori had heard of the Batman before and seen things that he had done, but she just couldn't help the feeling of that something really bad was going to happen. The feeling just wouldn't let go and she didn't know why it was there. If Lori knew that Batman was a great fighter and that he would know what to do, then why did she still have this feeling?

As she had already experienced her name, Lori, didn't bring good luck. Just as the feeling had told, one of the attackers grabbed something from the inside of his jacket. A thing that was very shiny, and very, very sharp. It was a knife, but a knife wouldn't be such a big deal against Batman. Or would it? Yes, it would if there were two other guys who could keep him steady. And unfortunately, here it was.

Lori watched in horror as the largest of the attackers tried to stab Batman in his chest. They missed many times since Batman wasn't a person who would be caught easily. But then, when Lori thought everything was going fine, the knife slashed through the dark suit and bore into the human flesh. Blood was pouring from his chest and he fell to the hard ground. Lori let out a scream, not so loud, but loud enough for them to hear. They turned to see her, one of them giving her a sinister smile. Slowly they began walking towards her, but suddenly they disappeared. Lori swiftly understood why. The sound of a police car siren was closing in and she guessed that someone must have seen it.

Lori breathed heavily, trying to gain some control of her nerves, and wiped the sweat off her forehead. At first she just wanted to leave and let someone else take care of this mess, but when she stood up, her feet wouldn't move away. Lori groaned and glanced back at the dark, heavy mass lying on the wet ground. Her teeth clenched in anxiety, and without really thinking much of it, Lori knelt down beside the Batman.

When she finally managed to roll him on his back, Lori almost threw up. He had lost a lot of blood and what she could see of his face was dead white. But no, he wasn't dead. He was alive, but if she didn't figure out what to do, then he would be dead. What was she going to do? She couldn't just turn him in at the Hospital or at the Police Station. Lori bit her lip so hard which made it bleed and she swallowed the stench of blood.

Desperately, Lori searched through his pockets, trying to find something which could help her help him. And unfortunately there was not so much of use. Lori supposed that he kept all his things inside his suit or something. What was she going to do now? She sighed heavily and stared down in despair. Suddenly Lori got her eyes on something which was lying beneath his left foot. She gazed at it, and without knowing what it really was, Lori pressed one of the buttons. Nothing happened and angrily she threw the 'thing' across the ground.

Suddenly Lori heard a loud noise closing in where she was. The sound was like a car driving too fast and as she swung around to see what it was her eyes spotted a large dark car. It didn't look like a normal car, more like a rocket. Lori stared at it, her eyes wide open in fear and she flinched as it rolled closer to her spot. It wasn't until it was right in front of her that she realized what it was. Lori definitely should have known it earlier after so many times that she had seen it on the news. Lori didn't know what to call it, but it was the vehicle he used to get around so he could catch all the bad-guys. It was Batman's _car_.

A door on the left side of the vehicle suddenly flew up and she now knew that it must have been the remote control for the vehicle that she had pushed. Lori turned her head to look back at the wounded Batman. Desperately she grabbed his arm and laid it over her back, making him to lean against her. Lori groaned as she felt how her knees felt like pudding. She was dragging his heavy body with her towards the car when suddenly something grabbed her arm and Lori screeched. A large hand was tightened around hers and she lifted up her gaze to look at something which shocked her. He was awake.

This could just not be happening. What was she going to do now? Lori closed her eyes, positive of that he was going to knock her down and kill her straight away. But nothing happened and she could feel how his grip let go. Lori breathed out in relief when she saw that he had passed out again, and started once again to drag him into the car. After some time she had finally manage to lay him inside the car. There was only one problem now – how was he going to get to the place she assumed he would call his 'home'? Lori searched the vehicle, trying to find anything that would give her the answer to it.

Since Lori didn't know how to drive, she carefully pushed a button on the desk which said 'Autopilot.' Right after she had done that, a clear voice suddenly spoke to her. "Please choose your destination," it said and Lori looked around in confusion, trying to find out where it came from, but she really didn't care. She replied to it, trying to make her voice sound as firm as she could. Clearing her throat she said, "Home." Just as Lori had said it, she regret about it. Lori didn't even know if he had a home, and she didn't even know if 'home' was a good place to be. She moaned, stepped out from the car and closed the top. The dark vehicle sped off right in time as the police came driving down the road behind her. Lori watched as it disappeared in the dark rain and quickly got away from the scene before the police could start bothering her with their questions.

The rain began to wash over her again as she slowly walked home in the rainstorm. Like the rain was sinking into her long, blue coat, it was finally starting to sink into her what she had just done. Lori had helped Batman, but for what prize? She knew that when he would start remembering about what had happened, he would certainly find her and do what? Kill her? Probably…Knowing that she was with him while he was unconscious wasn't good for him, she knew that. Of course he would believe that Lori had looked under his mask and would most probably don't listen to what she might have to say. Her words would be worth nothing. Her life would be worth nothing. But Lori guessed that sometimes that the things that happen always happened for a reason.


	3. Answers

**AN:**  
This chapter is a little different since it is not only Lori who talks here. Maybe it does not matter? After all I am not changing POVs in the way where you use "I" instead of "He/She".  
Please read and review.

- Be happy!

* * *

**Chapter 3.**

* * *

Sunlight was streaming softly through the spotless window and the first thing that Bruce registered when he woke up was that he had a splitting headache. He felt exhausted and put a hand to his head, over his eyes. Trying to get up, Bruce moaned as he felt a searing pain go up his stomach.

"Master Bruce, lie down. You're still in much pain," a hoarse voice said.

Bruce looked up, watching as his butler Alfred entered the room. He was carrying a tray of breakfast and the newspaper.

"It will take some time to heal does wounds, Master Bruce," Alfred informed Bruce who had ripped of the black shirt he was wearing. Examining the bandages, he looked up at Alfred, confusions glimpsing in his eyes. "Are you all right, sir?" Alfred asked him.

"Ah, well, I…" he began. "I don't remember quite so much of what happened, I mean, about last night. All that I remember is that there were three drug dealers which I tried to get rid of. The last thing I remember is that I was beating the shit out of those guys and the next thing I know, I was lying on the ground, bleeding to death"

"Well, I'm just glad that you did not bleed to death," Alfred said softly. "To tell the truth, sir, I do not know so much either. I just found and took care of you when you arrived back in your vehicle."

"Wooh, Alfred," he said swiftly. "What do you mean with that I arrived in the car?"

"I don't really know, sir," Alfred answered him. "You were inside it when it arrived here in the middle of the night. I guess someone must have switched on the autopilot."

Bruce face made a worried expression. Autopilot? Did someone help him get back to the Manor? He shook his head in anxiety. Looking at the tray of breakfast, he suddenly lost his appetite. There was only one thing he was thinking of. Someone, he didn't know who, but _someone_ out there had had some time alone with him, while he was unconscious. This was bad. This was seriously bad.

Alfred seemed to notice the worried look written on Bruce's face. "Is there anything I can do for you sir to make you feel better?"

"Actually, there is one thing I need you to do," Bruce said.

"Everything you want, Master Bruce."

"Check the Tumbler for fingerprints," he called rapidly.

"Of course sir," Alfred replied and nodded graciously. "May I ask if there is any particular reason why you want me to do this?"

"Well Alfred, I guess that since you've been my family's butler for years, I guess I should tell you everything." Bruce cleared his throat before he spoke again. "Since autopilot was switched on and I was unconscious, someone else must have done it."

"And you want to find this someone, am I right?" Alfred asked.

"That was the idea, yeah, Alfred." Bruce smiled brightly at his butler. "Will you do it for me?"

"Always my pleasure, Master Bruce," he answered and grabbed the tray of breakfast, understanding that his Master would not eat anything of it. He was on his way out from the room when he stopped and graciously spun around to see Bruce again. "Sir, you do have a charity ball to attend in an hour."

"I know, Alfred," Bruce said and groaned. He could definitely not show up there looking like this.

"Sir, what shall I tell them this time?" Alfred asked, sighing.

"Just tell them something like the true – like that I'm not capable to go to the ball. I'm sure that you can make up something."

"As you wish, sir," Alfred said, turning around and leaving the room and Bruce.

* * *

Lori was running down the street, the rain still washing down. "I really need to get more exercise," she muttered as she hurried around the corner and ran down another quarter. Panting, she stopped to catch her breath and checked her watch. Groaning she gazed forward and started moving again.

"I'm so sorry I'm late, Mr. Lancer! I had some homework to do and my exam is next week and I–"

"Miss Davis! I hired you here because I needed someone to take care of my bookstore while I'm not here. How am I supposed to do that when my work assistant does not show up in time?"

"Yes, I know and I'm sorry, but–"

"No buts. I don't want to hear your excuses. I want you to stay here and do your work. As I was about to say I'm having a meeting in 10 minutes. All you do is to stay and make sure that nothing goes wrong. Is that clear?" Mr. Lancer's voice was harsh and stiff. Lori smiled shyly and nodded. He pulled on his coat and left the store as quickly as he could. She could hear his voice as he called for a cab and it was in relief she breathed when she heard that the cab drove away.

Lori's work was in a bookstore. It wasn't a large and a famous one, but it was a quite normal store. Her boss, named Regan Lancer was a horrible person and Lori couldn't stand him. The truth was that no one could and Mr. Lancer, who was at the age of thirty-seven, had never been married or had any girlfriends. Lori looked at him as an old lone wolf, and sometimes she also pitied him for the life he lived. Bossing around on other people was miserable, she thought.

* * *

Meanwhile, in a manor far away from the bookstore, Bruce Wayne was lying in his bed. He had not been out from his bedroom for the whole day and started to get bored. Groaning, he clutched the chair standing beside his bed and pulled himself up.

He rolled out of his bed, trying not to think of the cold empty floor. Grabbing the clothes nearest to him, he pulled them on, not caring whether or not they were clean. Leaning against the walls, he finally made his way down.

Alfred looked up in time to see his Master burst through the door. "Mr. Wayne," Alfred began as collected as always. "Will you need me to tend any of your wounds?" He examined Bruce closely.

Bruce went over to a small coffee table. Its wooden legs slumped into dragon's claws snatching at the red Persian carpet beneath them. On the top there were raised two spotless glasses and bottle of Bourbon. Alfred waited patiently as Bruce finished off half of the golden liquid. He didn't like his ways of dealing with pains, but now was not his time to interfere.

The room was dark, lit only by the coffee table's evening lamp and lights flowing their way in from the city. "Perhaps, we should get you some proper clothes," Alfred offered.

"No," Bruce replied from a flamed throat.

"Well, I'll be in the kitchen preparing a light meal then."

Bruce soon remained alone standing in the darkness at the edge of his apartment. He gazed out the perfect glass into the sparkling city.

"Master Wayne?" Alfred called from the other room. He looked around the corner to see Bruce. "I have some tea prepared, sir." Bruce twisted quickly then looked away. "It's lotus orange." Alfred offered.

Cautiously Bruce placed his bottle down and began walking over to his butler. Alfred carried the tray over, meeting him halfway across the living room. His master snatched a cup without stopping on his way into the kitchen.

The smooth room was also dim with a few ceiling lights that were set to low. "I have some soup on the stove." Alfred declared pouring a bowl across the room. Bruce gazed out the closest window, this one smaller then his floor to ceilings and facing the east.

"Here you are sir," Alfred said putting the bowl onto Bruce's hand crafted glass table.

"I'm not hungry Alfred."

"Very well. You know sir – we all have to eat sometimes. Even Batman." Bruce scowled at the remark and turned to see Alfred picking up the food for the waste disposer.

"Oh, I almost forgot sir," Alfred suddenly exclaimed, facing Bruce. "When I scanned the Tumbler for fingerprints I found three different ones. One of them was mine, another one was yours."

"And the last one?" Bruce asked.

"It was a girl sir. She's too young to be together with you as her company and I personally have never heard of her before," Alfred told him. He handed Bruce some papers and documents. "These documents tell you everything you need to know about her. Where she live, when she's born, which school she goes to and so on."

"Thank you Alfred." Bruce nodded and took a quick look through the papers. He swiftly started to remember her now, how she had just sat and watched him when he had jumped down from the ceiling. It was just like she had seen right through him and can really see what's under the mask.

Bruce sighed. _He had to find her._

"Master Bruce," Alfred said, just as gracefully as usual.

"Alfred, I need you to get my things ready," Bruce sighed. "I've got to find that girl."

"Very well, Master Bruce. The cave I suppose?"

"Yes Alfred."

* * *

**Read and review!**


	4. Batman's Rescuer

**AN (OLD):**

So you really want more of this crap? Ok, fine for me! XD

**AN (NEW):**

_Remember to be happy, because happiness after all is pretty much a choice. Things can be happy to you and it's all about how it affects you._  
_I want to maintain my happiness and simply be happy. Do you? _

* * *

**Chapter 4  
**

* * *

Lori carefully pushed the front door open and sneaked in, trying to not make so many noises. Suddenly the door slammed shut behind her and she froze as she could hear footsteps closing in.

"Lori!" he yelled. His voice was gruff and noisy and she knew he was drunk,_ again_. Lori's stepfather was John Thompson who was a rich businessman working for Wayne Enterprises. He worked a lot and earned a huge amount of money every month, but all he wasted his money on was himself. He wasted it on woman, clothes and food, but most of all he wasted it on alcohol. He was always drinking or working. It was after Lori's mother had died that he had began drinking, saying every time that it was because of her. He was also the reason why Lori had to work. He didn't pay for food to her and she had to buy it herself. This caused Lori many problems and every time when she had asked her stepfather to not drink, he had gotten even madder and hit her.

Lori didn't look back as he came walking down the stairs, but yelled back. "Night, Thompson." She ran past him up the stairs and slammed the door to her room behind her. She sat down in her vanity with her head in her hands, her shoulders shaking with sobs. Lori wiped hot tears from her eyes and turned her face to look out the window. She was sad, and angry, too. Why was her stepfather so cruel? Why did her mother have to leave her? Why?

In a sudden surge of rebellion, she wiped her arm across the vanity, knocking off all its contents. The noise drew her stepfather to the door.

"Lori." His voice was cold and hard, and her name sounded foreign coming from his mouth. Like if it didn't even belong to her.

Lori kept her head down and said nothing.

"LORI!"

She flinched.

"I did not buy you all these nice things so you could uncaringly throw them on the floor. Pick them up, now!"

"Yeah that's true. You didn't buy these things, my mother did." Feeling very pleased with herself, she grinned and sat looking at him. Unwillingly she did what she was told to do. Her stepfather stood in the door way watching her until she was done.

Then, in a calmer, yet still in a firm voice as he could, he said, "Lori. You're a beautiful girl, but that is all what you are. You have got nothing more than your look and looks will only get you so far. Tomorrow I want you to find you a handsome boy and you will be his girlfriend. You will do anything in your power to make that relationship work. _Anything._ Then I will no longer have to take care of you. Do I make myself clear?"

Lori nodded, though disbelief swam in her head.

"Good." And with that he walked out and closed the door, leaving Lori by herself.

Lori shook her head. She couldn't believe what her stepfather had just told her. He had definitely gone out of his mind, because all he was doing was talking shit. She had never had a boyfriend and in less than three months she would turn seventeen. And she also knew that if she did find a boyfriend, her stepfather would just scare him off, just as he had did with her old friends. Now, she didn't have any friends anymore.

* * *

The night stretched on as the Batmobile soared through the Gotham City skyline. It always amazed Batman how the city looked from this height. The inside of the Batmobile was very tight and compact. It only had enough space for one person. It was very dark inside and the buttons and the control panels emitted an eerie red. Once the Batmobile got closer to Midtown, it was time to eject. Batman freefell in the air as he was about to release his dark wings. Once Bruce was inside the costume he felt alive. The pain of parent's murders went away.

Batman safely landed on the rooftop of a building. He looked around to get a scope of the city. Batman then ran across the building and as he reached the ledge he leaped through the air to the next one. Realizing that he would only be able to patrol for three to four hours he speeded up. He made a quick stop, looking around himself to see if he was the right way. He started running again and this time as he reached the ledge he dived out, using his wings to propel himself in the sky. Flying through the air he whispered to himself, "I am almost there."

He landed safely on a windowsill and carefully peeked inside through the window. He got surprised. Nothing of what he saw what as he had expected. Instead of a confident, strong girl he found a young teenage girl sitting on her bed. She looked miserable and her eyes told him that she had been crying. But this was the place, the right house, and Batman knew this was right as he gazed at the black-haired girl named Lori Davis, his rescuer.

* * *

Sorry, that was short, but more later. :)  
**Read and review!**


	5. Not So Innocent

**AN:**

New chapter. This is starting to be fun! And YAY, I have got _**5 reviews **_so far (3:28AM, December 31st 2008).** :D**  
Sorry if Batman is kind of OOC, but I'm doing this in my own way.

* * *

**Chapter 5**

* * *

Lori was getting herself ready for bed, doing her nightly routine. She showered, brushed her teeth and dressed into her purple colored pajamas. In silent she sat down on her bed and looked at the photo in the black frame. The photo was of her mother again. It was standing on a small table beside her bed so that she knew her mother would be with her in her dreams. But Lori knew that when she woke up again everything would be exactly as it was before she fell asleep.

Lori was just about to turn off the lights when she thought she heard something outside her window. Standing up she slowly walked towards the window and gazed out. But there was nothing there. Lori glared at the rain outside, letting out an irritated sigh and shook her head. "Oh Lori, it's just your imagination. Unbelievable," she groaned and turned around, but flinched instantly.

A tall, dark figure was standing in front of her. Frightened, she spun around the figure, heading for the door. All she could think was that she needed to get out of the room. Suddenly a pair of hands came up from beneath the shadows; one held her tight and one clasped her mouth closed. With all her might she tried to get out of his grip, but he was too strong. She tried to kick him, but there was no use. When the person revealed himself, she just stared wide in shock. It was Batman. When he let go of her, she was about to scream, but he put his hand on her face once again.

"Don't scream. I just want some answers…" he whispered. His eyes looked so dark and mysterious

Lori could hear her heart pounding in her ears and she took a deep breath. Knowing that it would be best to not disagree with Batman she nodded slowly, showing her agreement. Seeing this, he took his hand away. Still, he did not take his eyes off her as he moved in circles around Lori. He kept moving closer in every second and as he did, Lori moved even more away from him. Every fiber of her being screaming for her to run she backed up and hit the bed, making her sit down on it.

"Looks like you ran out of room," he whispered softly. "Miss Lori – why are you afraid of me? I won't hurt you."

"How do you know my name?" Lori exclaimed.

"That was not what I asked you," he said, waiting for her to answer.

"I'm not afraid of you," she whispered.

"That's right... You aren't. If you had been you would not have dared to save me."

"What? I don't know what you're talking about," Lori said in a stunning voice.

"_Liar._ I know it was you because I have your fingerprint right here," he said in a low voice. "That's also how I know your name. All I want to know is why you did it."

"I have already told you that I have not done anything that matters to you." Lori looked straight back at him. She knew it was a lie, as she swallowed hard the lump that had appeared in her throat. "And what if I did? You're alive, isn't that enough?"

"Of course it is, and I want to thank you for it. But I cannot live my life as Batman when I know that someone was alone with me when I had passed out," he grumbled and met her gaze. "Did you take off my mask? I want a simple 'yes' or 'no'."

"I didn't. I have a certain amount of respect for masks. I'm wearing my own mask every single day, showing it to every person I meet. That's why."

"What do you mean?" he asked.

Lori frowned at him as she realized that he was in some way actually caring for her as he asked her this question. She breathed out before she answered. "Some people think I'm so strong, but unfortunately I can see what's hiding under my mask. People who know me look at my life as a perfect life. I can certify you that it is not. My friends – they don't know me anymore. They don't know what's really going on inside here because they can't truly see me as who I am."

Batman smiled slightly. "You may not believe me, but I had a friend who reminds me of what you're talking about. I loved her and she loved me, once… When she found out she could not love me any longer, because of the same reason why your friends couldn't be friends with you. She could not see beneath my mask and therefore, the man I am underneath, was gone to her." Lori could hear Batman sigh heavily under his mask.

"I'm sorry," Lori whispered quietly. "It is so sad sometimes and I wish – I wish it all could just go away. Without any problems I would not need to wear this mask anymore." Lori sighed. "I know that if I could just talk to people, then they would have understood how I felt, but I don't trust easily and keep to myself."

"I know how you feel," Batman said softly.

"No, you don't," Lori hissed. "I don't know you and you don't know me, so don't act like it."

"That's not quite what I meant," he said in a low voice. "I don't talk or trust easily, though I'm a strong believer in communication. If more people would talk there would be a lot less problems in this world, but then there wouldn't have been so fun with being Batman anymore."

Lori grinned. "Yeah maybe so, but what I have heard these days is that you're not our hero anymore."

"Hah, those guys keep chasing me all through the city." Lori got surprised by hearing Batman laugh. "I'm not so popular these days, and that's why you shouldn't have gotten involved in my troubles."

"Oh, so you wanted to bleed to death, is that right?" Lori snickered. "I just did what I thought was right and if you blame me for that then have it your way. I just didn't want to let another innocent person die."

"That's where you're wrong," Batman growled. "I'm not innocent."

* * *

**Read and review ****:)**


	6. Nightmares

**AN: **New chapter. :) Hope you'll like it!

* * *

**Chapter 6

* * *

  
**

Alfred was standing in the front room, cleaning the windows when Bruce, dressed as Batman, suddenly burst in. He didn't look at his butler, only went into the living room where the bottle of Bourbon waited for him. He opened it and poured it into one of the glasses standing beside it.

"How did it go, Master Wayne?" Alfred asked, entering the living room.

"It went."

"Well, did you find the girl then?" Alfred asked.

Bruce sighed. "Yes, I did. And I also found some of the answers I wanted."

"Tell me then, did she or did she not?"

"She didn't. But I didn't like the reason why she didn't. It gave me a bad feeling," Bruce whispered firmly.

"What do you mean, Master Wayne?" Alfred asked. "I thought that it would be a good feeling."

Bruce sighed once more and groaned. "It wasn't. The answer she gave me reminded me of Rachel. That's why. God Alfred… I miss her so much."

Alfred looked at his Master. He understood how it was for him, losing his best friend and almost his girlfriend. Gotham was to him now a black city with even a blacker heart. There was no ray of hope here. It was the same every night. Blackness made the stars invisible. It was strange, how in most of the other cities light pollution blanked the stars, but it didn't here.

"What have I done Alfred? Why?" Bruce whispered, moaning heavily. "I wish…I wish I could do it over again. God Alfred, I loved her." He tilted his head to look out the newly polished windows. The lights were masked in the darkness. It was almost like the lights were afraid of what lived in the darkness. _Maybe they are afraid of me_, Bruce thought to himself. _Yet, I am like the light of this city. Without me, it would have destroyed itself years ago._

"Might I suggest, Master Bruce, that you should get some sleep," Alfred suggested. "It's been a long day, both for you and Gotham."

Bruce nodded slowly, closing his eyes. Gotham was a dark city, and Batman was a Dark Knight. It was getting darker for each day that passed by. He was afraid, afraid for that he would lose his way… and get swallowed by the night.

**

* * *

**

Batman was standing in his black suit in the middle of Gotham City. He was surrounded by the city's worse criminals, especially the one he hated the most. The Joker was there. His dark, blood-red lips wrenched into a most menacing smile as he stared down at the Batman. Batman was on his knees, shivering. Why was the hero shaking?

"Help me, Batman!" a man screamed. Batman tried to look, but he couldn't see anyone.

"The Joker's going to kill me!"

"SAVE US, BATMAN!"

Batman's eyes closed. Thousand of screams and panicked cries were filling his head and he clasped his hand to where his ears were. Every of the screams wanted to get away from him…the Joker. Screams of terror and cries for help.

It was about then when Bruce woke up with a start, his heart hammering wildly, his chest heaving, and he was full of sweat. He had a nightmare. What a horrible…horrible…nightmare. He took in all the things in his normal room, and then his eyes looked at the sight of the sun, trying to shine through the curtains of his window. He put a hand to his head, letting out a relieved sigh.

Bruce stretched his arms and got out of bed. Grabbing a white shirt draped on his nightstand, he put it on himself so that he wouldn't stay shirtless all through the morning.

Bruce went over to the windows and just as he spread out the curtains, Alfred knocked lightly on his door and entered. "Good morning, Master Wayne," Alfred greeted cheerily. "Had a good night sleep?"

Bruce moaned quietly and put a hand to his head again. "Yeah, for the most part…" he grumbled.

Alfred had a worried look at him. "Is something wrong?" he asked.

Bruce shook his head slowly. "It was just a bad dream. There's nothing more."

"Nothing serious, Sir?" His butler raised his head. When his Master didn't answer he decided it would be best to change the subject. "I'm sorry to bother you so early in the morning, but Commissioner Gordon called earlier. He wanted to speak with you."

"He called here?" Bruce said surprised. "When I was sleeping? You should have waked me up."

Alfred nodded. "It was so early. I told him that you would call back later, but I gave him your cell phone number just in case."

Bruce gazed out the windows of the early sunlight. "Did he say what he wanted to speak with me about?"

Alfred looked unsure. "I'm not quite sure. Commissioner Gordon did not say much so I suppose it was police business, but he did say that it was something about Wayne Enterprises."

Bruce frowned at this. "I… I'll call him back then."

When Bruce tried to find the nearest phone, his cell phone suddenly rang. "Mr. Wayne, this is Commissioner James Gordon. I apologize for the hour."

"No worries commissioner. May I inquire as to the purpose of this call?"

"It's about Wayne Enterprises which is your company as you know," Gordon said in a firm voice.

"Yes, I have already heard," Bruce said hastily. "What is this about?"

"A man turned up dead this morning and he worked for you in Wayne Enterprises," Gordon explained. "I just wanted to know what you know about him." Gordon paused. "Do you think you could come down to the police station? His name is John Thompson."

**

* * *

**

**Read and review, please. :)**


	7. In the Shadows

**AN: **New chapter. Hope you'll like it. :)

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 7**

**

* * *

**

"Alright, I'm on my way," Bruce said as he hung up the phone. "Alfred, are you going to be fine alone for a while? I have to go down to the police station."

"Yes, of course Master Wayne. Why shouldn't I?" Alfred asked.

"Uh, nothing," Bruce replied, shaking his head.

"I would probably suggest a changing first, though," Alfred recommended.

Bruce looked down to notice that he was still wearing just his white shirt and his sleeping pants, and did what Alfred had said. After quickly changing into a tailored suit, he left to go to the police station. When he got there he was lead to the Commissioner's office, where Gordon was already standing, waiting for him.

"Commissioner Gordon. So nice to see you again," Bruce said and walked towards the older man, holding out his hand.

"Mr. Wayne. It's been a long time," Gordon replied and shook Bruce's hand. "I still apologize about calling you so early in the morning, but as I said – we have a dead man."

"Don't worry about that, commissioner. I'm just glad to help," Bruce replied, looking at Gordon with an indiscernible expression. He sat down on a chair opposite to Gordon's desk. "So, what's this about?"

"As I said on the phone a man named John Thompson turned up dead this morning. He was a successful businessman, working for you in Wayne Enterprises." Gordon paused and walked up to his desk. "Can you tell me what you know about him?" he asked, turning to Bruce.

Bruce smirked a little before he answered. "Listen Commissioner, uhm… I have a lot of people who work for me, and I… I don't really get to know everyone personally." Still, after telling the Commissioner this, he still had a feeling telling him there was something about this man, but he just couldn't get what it was.

"I understand," Gordon said polite. He sighed as he sat down in his office chair. "I just wondered if you did."

"I'm sorry to disappoint you on that one," Bruce said, cheerily. "But I'm very sorry about the loss of him. I'm sure he was a good part in my company."

"Yeah, very well then. If you could just sign here, here and here, that would be fine," Gordon said, showing him a document. He pointed at the spots to sign. Bruce quickly looked through it and nodded once. After he had signed it, Gordon took the document and put it away. "That would be everything I needed. You may leave now, Mr. Wayne."

Bruce nodded again. "Maybe I should send his family a card or something from Wayne Enterprises."

Gordon frowned at him. "I don't think that would do it. He didn't have much of a family."

Bruce looked up. "What does_ that_ mean?"

"He didn't have real family, that's all I know." Gordon met Bruce's stare. "But he was in custody for a girl, his stepdaughter. She's sitting outside, waiting for a meeting with me. I don't think how much she would appreciate a card as your sorry since she's so young."

"Ah okay, I understand that…Commissioner Gordon," Bruce replied and stood up from his chair.

"Thank you for coming, then," Gordon said, standing up and holding out a hand.

"No problem. Goodbye Commissioner," Bruce replied, shaking hands with Gordon.

"Have a good day and goodbye, Mr. Wayne."

Bruce made his way to the door and opened it. He was walking down the corridor to the main hall, when a young girl suddenly came walking towards him. Bruce's heart skipped a beat. He could not believe it, but it was true. The girl coming towards him was none other than Lori Davis.

Lori was walking quickly up the corridor. Her mind was racing with so many thoughts and she couldn't get any control of them. Her gaze went down at the ground, but got even sicker by this. She shifted her gaze to look and realized that was a mistake, turning her head down again. Lori knew who the man was. It was none other than billionaire Bruce Wayne.

Lori walked right past him, not even thinking about him or seeing him. She was too lost in her own thoughts and her own world to pay any mind. Lori reached the end of the corridor and pushed the door on her left side open, swiftly going inside and closing it behind her.

Just when he heard that the door to Gordon's office slammed behind the girl, Bruce turned around and gazed at it. He looked to both of his sides and carefully sneaked up to the door, pressing his ear against it. After a while he could hear what they were talking about and peeked through the key hole.

**

* * *

**

"I'm Commissioner James Gordon. What's your name, Miss?" Gordon asked the girl who was standing near the window. She appeared calm, but her fingers twitched nervously.

"It's Lori, Lori Davis, Commissioner," she replied softly. "How did he die?"

Gordon sighed. "We don't know who did it, but he got shot between his eyes."

"When was he found?" Lori asked.

"This morning, in a backstreet alley. The condition tells me that he was probably killed by a narcotic. Did he do cocaine or did he have any business with this stuff?"

"As far as I know he didn't do that shit, and even though running it is good money, I don't think he did," Lori answered.

"Miss," said Gordon, "Let me tell you that I am very sorry about your stepfather and I don't want to trouble you, but I need to ask you some questions. I found out that you have a lawyer and he'll be waiting for your call."

"I'm not afraid, Commissioner Gordon," said Lori. "Because I did not kill him."

"Of course not," Gordon answered. "Now, Miss," he continued, "a great number of the questions I ask you may seem trivial, but some word of yours that appears to you entirely unconnected with the case may give me a clue which will be remarkably valuable. You will, therefore, I am sure, pardon me if some of the questions I ask you appear irrelevant."

Lori bowed her head, but said nothing.

"Did you ever see anything in your stepfather's actions that would lead you to think of him as a man who might have contemplated suicide?"

"Suicide? I thought you were talking about murder." Lori looked up with wide-open eyes. "But certainly not," she said.

"Do you know if he had any enemy who might wish his death?"

"If they had known him the way I did he would have had. But no, I don't think so."

"What's that suppose to mean?"

"Let's just say that he was like the mean stepmother in the fairytales, but that's not important now." Lori shook her head and rolled up her sleeve. "Look, this is what I mean."

Gordon's eyes blazed at once. Lori's arm was covered by big, purple bruises. "He did this?" he asked and she nodded. "I now understand what you mean and I'm sorry."

"This is what happens when the real heroes disappear and only the criminals stay behind," Lori whispered.

Gordon frowned at this remark. "What does that mean?"

"You know what I'm talking about. The Batman," Lori said in a low voice. "He's gone, hidden away in the shadows. Just like a real bat, spending all its time in the shadows. Only because people like you have chased him away from the only city that needs him."

"Listen kid," Gordon started. His voice was not so polite anymore. "For all the time, Batman has just been a trouble for Gotham. Maybe we need him, but the time is not right. When he can see why, then he can come back and be the hero we really deserve. But for now, everything he'll do will just destroy Gotham. And we should be grateful for that he's gone."

"Are you cops totally blind?" Lori yelled and rolled her eyes at him. "Without Batman there would have been no Gotham left!"

"Okay that's enough from you," Gordon barked at Lori. "You may leave now."

Lori just snorted at the commissioner and left, slamming the door hard behind her. She knew that the city needed him, even if he was a Dark Knight. The hero this city deserved was Batman. Storming down the corridor in anger, she had not noticed Bruce Wayne, who had managed to jump away from the door just before she went out. Standing there, he watched her running away, thinking about all the things she had said about the Batman. He couldn't believe his own ears.

**

* * *

**

**Please review to tell me. :)**


	8. It Feels Like Home

**AN:**

New chapter! Hope you'll like it. :)  
And just ignore the stupid chapter titles XD they are just random.

* * *

**Chapter 8

* * *

**

Lori hurried down the corridor, her brown eyes piercing into the floor. She nudged by people in her way and didn't even care to apologize for elbowing them. Lori gazed up as she passed a newspaper stand with Batman's face all over the covers with titles like 'Winged Threat or Friendly Ally?' or 'Can We Trust Him?' This only made Lori even angrier and she started to walk faster.

Glancing at her clock, she realized that she was late. Her teachers expected that she would be back at school as soon as possible to continue her learning so that things would quickly get back to normal. Sighing heavily she grabbed her backpack was hanging over her shoulder and opened it. Finding the books she needed for her next class she slung her bag over her shoulder again and smoothed the skirt of her lilac colored sweater. Lori already knew that this day was going to be the worst of her life.

When Lori reached the main hall in the Gotham Police Department she was directed to a nearby desk were there was a woman who wanted her to sign some papers. Lori watched carefully as the woman showed her the places to sign and she did what she was told to do. Turning around, her eyes narrowed nervously when she saw it was him. Bruce Wayne was standing in front of her, gazing her up and down. She glared at him and walked right past him, hearing him laugh.

Bruce watched the young girl go. He still hadn't taken in all the things that she had said about Batman. He couldn't let her do this; he could not let her believe in something which was so wrong. It would only give her trouble and too many problems. No good would come out of it.

Bruce looked after her as she headed for the door. She pulled it open and closed it behind her. He walked up to the windows by the door and gazed out to see her walking down the sidewalk. He opened the door too, and walked out, trying to follow her as she passed the corner.

Holding her books tight to her chest and resting her chin on them, Lori slowly walked down the street. Whatever how hard she tried, Lori's mind would only think about one thing – Batman's face. She didn't understand. The night when he had come to her, he had seemed so nice and not at all been the violent criminal everyone these days had been talking about. Batman had been helping everyone. _Why couldn't they suck up their pride and realize the good he had done for them,_ Lori thought and continued walking down the street.

The black-haired girl continued walking, her shoes making 'click-clack' noises on the cement. She had just turned the corner when she suddenly tripped, causing her body along with the books she was carrying, to crash to the ground.

"Ooof!" Lori groaned. She looked up, watching the crowded street in front of her. "Great"_, _she said to herself. "Hasn't my day been bad enough or do I have to become the laughing-stalk of Gotham, too?"

She sat up at once and began to collect the books she had lost during the fall. Suddenly as she reached for her Biology book another hand came in contact with hers. The hand was soft, but still very like the hand to a man. Lori instantly flinched back and away from the hand. Her gaze kept staring at the hand. She shifted her gaze to the smile, and then to the eyes. She kept staring like this until she could see him clearly. Wearing an expensive and fashionable suit no one would ever be wrong on who it was. It was the 'Prince of Gotham', Bruce Wayne who was on his knees, picking up _her_ Biology book.

"Are you alright?" Bruce asked, but Lori couldn't manage to speak a word. She had read about him and his scandals in all the magazines, and seen his face all over Gotham. Lori had never thought that Gotham's playboy would ever care about anyone else than himself, especially not a girl like her.

"Miss, are you alright?" he asked again, furrowing his dark brows in concern. "That was a pretty bad fall you took."

Lori stared for a moment, struck in surprise, before she forced her mouth to form words. "I-I… I'm fine," she stuttered. "And it was not a bad fall. I just stumbled, that's all. Not a big deal." She stood up and so did he. When she realized that she was still staring at him, she smiled shyly and noticed that he held her Biology book in his hands. "Uh… Thanks for your, err…help. Thank you for helping me, but can I please get back my book now?"

Bruce smirked and glanced down at the green book. "Oh. Of course you can," he said. He handed her the book and Lori quickly snatched it and put it back into her bag. "I apologize if I scared you, and what's your name? I'm Bruce Wayne"

"Yes, I know who you are," Lori responded shyly. "My name is Lori, Lori Davis. And to your information, you did not scare me. I was just surprised."

"Alright then, my brave one," Bruce snickered and Lori glared at the comment. "You're sure you're okay? You look really pale."

"I am sure. I'm perfectly fine," she almost shrieked. No one had ever really cared for Lori before, but this was starting to get quite annoying. Lori suddenly felt a sharp pain go through her left leg. She pressed her hands tightly to block out the pain. Moaning, Lori looked down to find she had a huge cut on her left knee. She picked up her bag, hoping for that Bruce hadn't noticed it, but Lori was still not so lucky.

Seeing her limping on her left foot as she walked over to pick up another book, Bruce marched over to her and laid his hand on her shoulder. He twisted her around and his eyes widened in shock as he saw the cut that was bleeding freely. "You," he said and pointed at Lori, "You're coming with me."

"W-what?" Lori stuttered.

Bruce didn't respond and he took a grip around Lori's arm. He dragged Lori up the street and, in a hurry; he dragged her all the way back until they were outside the police station. Lori couldn't do anything else than follow Mr. Wayne. It all happened so fast and before Lori managed to blink, she was sitting in the backseat of a car. The seats were in black leather, and probably the most comfortable seats Lori had ever been in. She looked forward and saw that it was Bruce who was driving.

"What the heck do you think you're doing? Kidnapping me?" Lori shrieked, trying to open the car door on her side.

"Please, don't do that," Bruce whispered in a low voice. "I'm only trying to help you."

"Help me? _HELP ME_?" Lori yelled. "You're only making everything even worse! I'm supposed to be at school at this time – they are waiting for me."

Bruce laughed. "You want to go to school? In a condition like that?" he said, referring to the cut on her knee. She gazed at it, seeing how bad it was bleeding. She laid her hands in her lap and turned her head to look in another direction. "That's what I thought, too."

After a short driving the car stopped, and Bruce graciously slid out of his car and shut the door closed. First Lori thought he was going to leave her there, but suddenly her door opened as well and she stepped outside. But the sight of what she saw struck her. Lori was standing outside Bruce's personal residence. The manor that had belonged to his family for centuries and it was called Wayne Manor.

The manor was beautiful. Outside there were great gardens with beautiful trees and flowers. Even though the manor was really old and in a very gothic style, it was also very fashionable. Lori had loved it since the first second she saw it. This place truly felt like home.


	9. Two Sides of One Man

**AN:  
**Finally, update now! :D Hope you all will enjoy this!

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 9

* * *

**

Walking through a giant hallway that led into the kitchen, Lori passed by several old, black and white photographs hanging on the wall. Each photo was different from the next to it and told a story of a life in a different time – a time that almost seemed like it was in a different world. She assumed that they were photos of the Wayne family. She could see the similarity between them and Bruce, except that they looked happy then. No one could smile anymore here in Gotham, not even Bruce Wayne even though how hard he tried. Lori could see this; she could see that something was happening to Gotham's entertainer. She followed closely after him, just a few steps behind.

Leading her into the kitchen, he directed her over to sit down on a chair beside a large glass table. The room was dark, only a few lights were on. When she thought of it she hadn't really seen so many lights at all. _This city is already dark enough,_ Lori thought._ Why would anyone want to make it even darker?_

Feeling his eyes on her, Lori glanced up at Bruce and found out that he was glaring. Quickly she looked away and shifted her gaze to look out the window. She didn't like that he was glaring; it only made her feel even more uncomfortable. She wanted to leave, go to a place somewhere else, anywhere but here. _Billionaire playboy my ass, _she thought bitterly. _Why couldn't you just let me be?_

Bruce looked at Lori who was staring out the window. She had shrunk together and made herself as small as possible. To Bruce, it looked like she wanted to disappear from the whole world and never be found. Suddenly she turned her head and met Bruce's stare once again.

"Can you please stop staring at me? If you don't know, it is quite annoying."

Bruce smirked a bit. "I'm sorry about that. A lot of people say that, too," he said with a silly voice. "I was just thinking."

"Oh, it's okay. I didn't mean to be harsh or something," she said quietly. "It's just that… I don't really like to be stared at." Her face expression slowly changing, she smiled a bit. Bruce breathed out in relief to see that she seemed much warmer and calmer. "If you don't mind me asking, what were you thinking about?"

"I don't mind," he replied as he moved closer. "I was just thinking about your knee."

"Huh? Oh, right…" Lori said. She had almost forgotten the cut on her knee. "You know, I could always just go to the doctor or something. I don't really want to bother you with my awkwardness. I'm sorry."

"Ah, don't worry. You aren't bothering me at all. Besides, I wouldn't want you to have the same accident again and run into any other poor unsuspecting person in this city," Bruce said and tried to keep a straight face. A smile slowly crossed Lori's face.

"Alfred," Bruce said after a moment of quiet.

Soon after a short time, an older gentleman entered the room. He closed the door in an elegant movement and strolled over to Bruce. Lori struggled hard, trying to hold back a laugh, but she couldn't help it. Wearing a black dress shirt with a grey tie and pants, the old man was standing straight up like if he was in the military. _What a poor man,_ Lori thought to herself, smiling.

"Yes Master Bruce?" asked the old man – apparently named Alfred.

"I was just wondering if you could go and get the first-aid kit for me."

"Of course I can," Alfred said, nodding to his master. "Anything for you, sir. May I ask what you want it for?"

"Well…" Bruce started, somewhat hesitating. "Let us just say that there was an accident." He looked past Alfred to look at Lori.

Alfred noticed this quickly and turned around to see Lori sitting by the table. He turned to Bruce again and smiled merrily. "Well, it's a small accident that we have got here, huh?" He still smiled and Bruce grinned at this.

Meanwhile Lori's face had turned red by seeing those two grown-up men talking like this. She rolled her eyes and sank back down into the chair. Closing her eyes, she leaned her head backwards. She had to get away from this – this madhouse. She couldn't stand it being in this house. Even though Lori had only been there for less than a half-hour, seeing Bruce's perfect life disgusted her. He was Gotham's 'Prince' – the city's richest person, only using his money on women and expensive sport cars. _Some of us actually have to work for a living,_ she thought angrily.

**

* * *

**

Lori was dragged out from her thoughts when suddenly the old Alfred knelt down beside her. His large hand tried to reach for her knee, but as he did she flinched away, moving over to the next chair.

"Just relax, Miss," Alfred said, rummaging in the first-aid kit. "If you don't want to be stung by any needles and so, then please sit still." Lori looked up and finally did what he told her to do. "Have you got a name, Miss?" he asked her.

She nodded shyly. "It's Lori. Lori Davis."

"Lori. Pretty name for a beautiful woman," Alfred said and she prayed she wasn't blushing. "Well, Miss Davis, how did this happen then?"

"I stumbled in my own feet." She knew that she definitely was blushing now as she told him about her clumsiness. She glanced up and noticed that Bruce was no longer in the kitchen.

"Miss Davis, when you fell, it looks like you landed on top of some sharp glass shards. That's the reason why you got this cut," Alfred said. He poured some peroxide onto a cotton swab, and without warning Lori he pressed it on the cut. Lori had to bite her lip so she would not scream out loud when he did, because it stung like hell. As he started to clean around Lori's knee he gazed up at her and said, "May I suggest that you should thank Master Wayne and be grateful for that he was there to help you. It could have been worse."

Lori smiled to herself. "I'll thank him then. Where is he?"

"Master Bruce got a phone-call from Wayne Enterprises. They wanted him to attend during a very important meeting," Alfred explained. He took out the tweezers and began plucking out all the small pieces of glass that was still inside the wound. When he felt Lori jerk beneath his hands at a particularly deep prod, he tried to calm down the young lady.

"Easy Miss. Breathe through it. Try to relax," Alfred said in a soothingly tone. Lori soon managed to become a little more relaxed. "You're a good girl, Miss Davis. Just keep focusing on something else. I'm almost done. By the way, how old are you, Miss Davis?"

"I'm 16, but my birthday is in April, so I'll be turning 17 then."

"Well, it's just two months till April, and then you'll be a young lady. Fancy that, young and beautiful." Alfred smiled when Lori's face turned a brighter shade of red.

"Alfred?" Lori whispered gently.

"Yes Miss Davis?" he replied.

"I was just wondering if there was something bothering Mr. Wayne?" Lori's eyes met Alfred's and he could see the concern.

Alfred cleared his throat before he answered. "No, not as I what I have noticed. Why do think so?"

"It's just that… I had never imagined that he could be like this. So…caring," Lori whispered. "After I fell, he asked me if I was going to be okay. No one has ever shown me any concern after my mother died."

"Miss Davis, can I please tell you something?" Alfred asked. Lori nodded. "When it comes to Bruce Wayne he has got two sides. One of them is the one he shows to everyone. You know, the ladies man. Each time he shows up he has got new girls with him, and everyone thinks he is just Gotham's billionaire playboy. The other side of him is a side he rarely shows to anyone outside his own personal circle. That side of him is the real Bruce Wayne. He showed it to you when he was concerned about your well-being."

Alfred pulled the last shard out of her leg and doused the cut with more peroxide to flush it out. Lori clenched her fists and a small yelp escaped from her lips. His exhaustion was finally winning over and Lori slowly relaxed, sinking down on the chair. Alfred patted her injured knee and looked up. "I'm sorry, but it looks like we're going to need that needle after all."

"Do I need to be stitched?" Lori asked. Her voice sounded a little worried.

"Yes, you do Miss, but not so many." Alfred found a lighter and sterilized the needle, then quickly soaked the thread, as well as his hands, in alcohol. When everything was prepared he carefully slid the needle through Lori's skin, hooked it upward, and captured the other side, drawing them together.

Lori's hands fastened a grip around the chair. She was already a slight greenish tint. Alfred spoke words to comfort her as he continued one neat stitch after the other. Just when he was about to finish, Lori's strength betrayed her and she let the pleasant darkness consume her. Alfred reached the end of the cut and tied it off.

Suddenly Bruce burst through the door from the living room. He froze a few steps into the room, wide eyes locked on the needle in Alfred's hand. Even though Bruce had been stitched and stitched himself many times before, he still hated needles.

"Alfred? What happened to her?" Bruce's concern was evident in his voice. Alfred quickly checked Lori's pulse and lifted her eyelids to be sure.

"She just passed out, Master Bruce. She'll be fine. This way, she won't feel it anymore."

"But she's going to wake up again, right?"

"Of course she will," Alfred said and grinned at the young man.

"When?"

"I assume she will be just fine tomorrow morning," Alfred informed. "But if you hadn't taken her with you, things would have been worse."

"I'll make sure that she'll thank me then."

"Excellent thought, Master Bruce," Alfred said and snickered. "I couldn't have said it better myself."

**

* * *

**

**Please give me some reviews and tell me what you think and if you liked it or not! :)**


	10. Knowing me, Knowing you

**AN:**  
Weirdo chapter. o.O

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 10

* * *

**

Lori woke up, the sweet aroma of rose blossoms bringing her back. Opening her eyes slowly, she lay calm, for a moment confused. Bright sunlight streamed in from the wide windows, which overlooked a perfect lawn. She could see the morning sun just glancing over the horizon.

On her left, a tray burdened with covered dishes and a vase of the most gorgeous roses she had ever seen. Then she looked down on herself. She was wearing a black sweatshirt and black sleeping pants that were obviously too big for her. She didn't dare to think about whom the person was that had put them on her.

Sitting up in careful movements, Lori reached for the vase and took out one of the roses. Putting it up to her nose, she inhaled the deep aroma of blood-red roses.

"These are gorgeous. Someone must be lovingly taking care of them daily."

"Well, I'm trying to do my best, Miss Davis."

At the familiar voice, Lori looked up into the kind eyes of Bruce Wayne's butler.

"Alfred?" Lori said in a confused voice, but then she remembered it all. "What happened with me?"

"You passed out," he said mildly. "Have you slept well?"

Lori stared at him and blinked twice. "Yeah… I slept fine."

"Master Bruce sends his sorry for not being able to greet you this morning. He had a meeting with the Wayne Foundation Board of Directors. However, he widens his welcome and hopes you're feeling much better this morning."

_You don't say_, Lori thought to herself. _Maybe this guy really is a hard worker after all._

"I felt a light meal might be in order," Alfred said as he walked over to her and soothingly, he uncovered a plate, containing fresh fruit, orange juice, and toast. "Miss, are you hungry?" he asked.

Lori nodded. "A little bit, at least I feel that I can actually eat something." That was almost a lie. She was hungry, but she didn't think she would be able to hold anything. Alfred added some more pillows behind her head to help her sit more comfortably. Placing the breakfast tray across her lap, he ensured that the television remote was within hands reach.

Prior to leaving, he said, "It's my pleasure to be of service so if you should need anything more just–"

"Alfred," Lori quickly interrupted. "This…breakfast in bed and everything – it's very nice of you, but I really have to go." Removing the tray, she rolled over and was about to climb out of bed, when Alfred caught her arm, pushing her back.

"What are you doing?" she snapped in shock.

"Master Bruce mentioned that he thought you might want to do that," Alfred said softly. "He also ordered me to not let you leave or go to somewhere else."

"Alright, I'll sue him for kidnapping then," Lori said dryly.

Alfred smiled. "Well, I can see that your humor is back on running," he said.

Lori rolled her eyes at Alfred. _And he calls himself a butler. He's crazy, that is. Standing there smiling when I have to get back home and god…I have work today. _She glanced over at the watch standing on the nightstand, and once again pulled her up from the bed. This time she was too fast and before Alfred could have had a chance to pull her back, she was already standing.

"I don't think Master Bruce will be so happy when he finds out about your behavior," Alfred said.

Lori snorted. "I don't really care about that now. I just have got to get to my work." Suddenly she looked down and realized that she was still wearing only the too large clothes. "My clothes, where are they?"

"I got them all cleaned up. They were a little grimy," Alfred said. "And I also got rid of your ruined jeans. No worries, I bought you a new one." He pointed to Lori's left and she glanced at the stack of neatly folded clothes on the chair.

**

* * *

**

Lori quickly pulled off the clothes she was wearing and pulled on the clean ones. Without talking, she rushed out the door and hurried down the great staircase, passing other doors until she reached the first level. As she approached the entrance hall, she pulled on her blue coat and stepped into her shoes. Looking over her shoulder, she saw that Alfred was coming down the stairs.

"I do think you should stay, at least until Master Wayne comes back," he said firmly.

"I am back," a voice said from behind Lori. _Bruce_. His voice was flat in tone, however his eyes twinkled, and mouth was twitching as if he was trying to repress a smile or laugh. Lori had the uncomfortable feeling that he was inwardly laughing at her own escape attempt.

"Ah, I see that there is some trouble with our special guest." He winked at her. "Don't worry, Alfred. I'm sure she will appreciate our services after a quick lunch. Or what do you think, Miss?"

"You're not going to drive me home. Are you?"

"It was not my intention to do so," he said with a naughty grin.

As he moved past her, Lori thought first she could smell the taste of blood, but shrugged at the thought. Breathing deeply she turned around and saw that Bruce was heading for the living room. Even though she couldn't see his face she knew he was grinning, and she snorted angrily. "Fine. I can get to work on my own."

"I have spoken with Mr. Lancer," Bruce said calmly. "I told him what happened and he said it was okay."

Lori's eyes blinked. How did he know where she worked? In fact, why did he know so much about her when she knew so little about him? Except everything she had read in the magazines, of course. She snorted again. "There's no chance that Mr. Lancer would have agreed to that," she said.

"Well, if you know what kind of person you're talking with you can always do something to change their mind," Bruce said, smiling. "And with Mr. Lancer, I instantly saw what kind of person he was."

"You paid him off, didn't you?" Lori asked.

"Yep," Bruce answered and grinned at her. "The man needed some extra cash."

Lori rolled her eyes at him. "You're unbelievable. When I first want to go to work, you have already paid him for not letting me come." _Damn you_. She shook her head bitterly. "Maybe you haven't noticed, but I don't want to be here. I have got better things to do."

"Oh, really? Like what? Looking around for masked heroes?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Lori asked, frowning.

"Nothing," Bruce said, smiling, and rubbed the back of his neck. "Look here, I can understand that you're not feeling so well right now after what has happened to you. I mean your stepfather and your knee. I just thought that a day-off would be good for you."

"Thanks for your concern, Mr. Wayne, but to your information I'm doing all fine," she said. "The only thing I want to do now is just to go home."

He gazed back at her. She wasn't really looking at him or anything when she said it, and he knew that she meant it. "Fine," he finally said and looked up at Alfred. "Please drive her home."

"Thank you," she whispered when she heard what he said. She looked at Bruce, but he didn't look back. Smiling lightly, she walked over to Bruce and held out her hand. "I'm thankful for your generosity while I was here. And I promise you, I will try to not bother you again with my clumsiness."

Bruce took her hand and shook it firmly. "Goodbye," he said before he walked through one of the doors on his left side.

Lori watched him go as he went through the doors. She was somehow relieved for finally leaving, but she also had a strange feeling saying this was not right. That it wasn't the time yet to leave. She shuddered and walked down to the front of the house. Alfred held the car door open for her, gesturing slightly.

"Please take your place inside, Miss Davis."

He had his hand to her and helped her inside, using formality which gave Lori a pleased feeling. She liked him, much better than the stupid-playboy-ass_. _His softly wrinkling white face, the deeply carved lines along his eyes and his lips that curled into a smile was comfortable. But he was also the only one who was normal at this place and not as strange as the consistence of the Wayne Manor and Bruce. Maybe she would go back there someday, but not now. The time was not right yet to do something like that. Batman was the one she needed to focus on. People had to believe in Batman, that he wasn't not only bad things, but a real hero. But right now, that was something no one would ever understand.


	11. What We Fear

**AN:  
**I think this chapter might be better than the others. I used some more time with this. :) But please tell me what you think.

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 11**

**

* * *

**

The sky was clear and bright blue as Lori came walking into the parking lot, a couple of minutes before her fifth class. She strolled over to get to the school building, but stopped half on her way. Standing there, she glared at the building in front of her, loathing to step foot inside. Sighing heavily she made her way toward the entrance.

Walking across the parking lot she suddenly heard someone shouting at her.

"Lori!" a girlie voice shouted. Lori knew who it was and turned around to meet a pair of emerald green eyes and long red hair. It was Madeline Duffman, one of the most popular girls at Lori's school. Although she had seen Madeline around, Lori never talked with her.

"Hey!" she shouted, giggling wildly. She smiled, showing off her white and probably new polished teeth, which blinded Lori every time when the sun shined on them. "So," she said, giggling even more. "I have heard everything! Oh my god, it's so cool!"

Lori was stunned and had no absolutely no idea of what she was chatting about. "Sorry?" she said confused, and somewhat afraid to hear what the new school gossip was. "What are you talking about?"

"You know what I'm talking about!"

"I do?"

"Come one, don't play stupid. I saw you with him. Olivia, Sam, John and I saw you go with him." She giggled out her words.

Lori frowned and stared at Madeline. "You saw me with whom?" she asked.

Madeline smiled widely. "Oh please. We saw you with him, Gotham's billionaire. Bruce Wayne!" She giggled when she said his name. "So, are you two together or what?"

Lori stared blankly at her for a moment. Clearing her throat she finally spoke. "No, we are, uhm, not together. I fell, cut my knee, and he was only being nice and tried to help me. End of story. Now, please stop this gossiping."

"Too bad," Madeline said quietly. "He's a great catch, especially, no offense of course, if you don't have so much money."

"Would you please stop?" Lori barked at Madeline. "Anyway, it's only trouble with high school girls flirting with a grown man."

"So does that mean that's he is available?" Madeline asked, raising her eyebrows and smiling.

"Just go ahead, he's all yours," Lori said, sighing. "He's more your type."

"You think?"

"The perfect match," Lori said, trying to keep a straight face. She smiled to herself, imagining Bruce and Madeline together. Despite the age difference they would have looked good together. Gotham's playboy and the city's most popular teen girl nicknamed 'Sexy Maddie'. Yep, _perfect_.

"Wish me luck then," Madeline smiled and walked away. Lori knew that Madeline would easily get in contact with Bruce Wayne as Madeline's father had been Lori's stepfather's colleague, working together for Wayne Enterprises. She couldn't count how many times she had heard Madeline bragging about her father's lunch meetings with Mr. Wayne, though Lori really knew that it was a lie.

Watching her as she disappeared in the school crowd, Commissioner Gordon suddenly approached her.

"Miss Davis," he said warmly.

"Commissioner," she nodded, with much less warmth. Lori still remembered their last meeting when he was questioning her about her stepfather's murder and when she had yelled at him about Batman. She could definitely say that it had not gone that well.

He nodded and smiled to other students passing by, but once more, Lori was the person being sought. "May I speak with you in private, Lori?"

"What can I help you with, Commissioner?" Lori asked.

She was surprised when he took her by the elbow and guided her gently away from the crowds. "I need to tell you something," he said to her, and the note of quiet desperation in his voice was enough to make her go completely still.

"What's wrong?" Lori studied Gordon's face; she did not know him very well, but it seemed as though he had aged quickly since the last time she had seen. It was nothing she could put her finger on, nothing very visible, just a sense that the many of Gotham's problems had laid a hand onto Gordon's shoulders, and he was finding it a burden not to his liking.

"You're working in a bookstore, aren't you?"

"Uhm, yeah I am. Why?" Lori said.

"Is it named _Lancer's books_?"

Lori snorted. "Yeah, you can't really say that Mr. Lancer have such an imagination."

"Mr. Lancer is dead."

"What?!?" Lori shrieked. Feeling her knees shivering, she stumbled backwards and sank down onto a bench, dropping her bag. "When did he die?"

"We found him this morning around 9'o clock," Gordon explained. "And according to a working schedule which hung on the wall, it said that you were to suppose to be working this morning."

"Yeah um, on Thursdays I work instead of study in the mornings," Lori said quietly.

"But you weren't there when we came. This morning, did you go to work at all?" He asked, raising his eyebrows.

"No, I did not. I told Mr. Lancer that I was not feeling okay, and took the day off," Lori explained, folding her hands on her lap. "Maybe you don't understand, but my stepfather were just killed less than two days ago, and you believe that I would actually feel well enough that I would be able to go to work, is that right?"

"No, of course not. I was just wondering where you were. The guy who found Mr. Lancer told me that he was just walking by the store and when he peeked in, he saw blood splatter all over the floor. The main window was also broken and thousands of shards were spread around the room," Gordon told her and sighed heavily. "There is something I think you should know about his death."

"What it is?" Lori asked.

"Mr. Lancer was killed in the same way as your stepfather. He was also shot between the eyes," Gordon said, rubbing his head.

"And you think what? That there was a connection between these two murders?" Lori asked.

"Maybe, but I'm not sure yet of what to believe. The strange thing about this is that both of them were people which seemed like you didn't care much for." He paused for a moment and turned to Lori. "Miss, do you own a gun?"

"A gun? What the heck do you mean? I didn't kill them!" Lori yelled through her teeth, almost spitting out the words. "No, I don't own a gun, okay? I don't like weapons at all – they're only making everything much worse."

"I understand. I just had to ask, to be sure you know," Gordon said. "Look here, it seems like people you know gets killed."

"Not everyone," Lori commented.

Gordon frowned. "What does that mean?"

"You're still here," Lori said and made a face.

"That was not funny, kid. You should take this a little more seriously if you don't want to get killed as well." He spoke in a deep and roughly voice and Lori knew that he meant it. He sighed before he spoke. "I understand at this time, you're living alone in your stepfather's house, but you can't stay there forever. I have spoken with Sandra Millock, who works with foster care, and she told me that there is someone who would like to adopt you. There is set up a meeting on Sunday and they would like you to–"

"No, I don't want to," Lori quickly interrupted. "I don't want to live with other people who are just strangers to me. I'm 16 and soon 17! I can take care of myself."

"No, you can't do that. You're just a girl," he said. "You need protection and you won't find it in that old, empty apartment. Besides, some people were there and packed up your stuff. They're at the Police Department. You can pick them up there..." He paused. "Please Lori, you need help."

"I don't want any help, neither your protection," she yelled at him, her face reddening. "I don't want to need other people. I'm doing fine just on my own."

"Then fine. Just suit yourself." Breathing heavily he turned his back against Lori. He was just about to walk away when he looked back over his shoulder. "Do me a favor and please show up at the meeting. It's on Sunday at 3'o clock. And don't be late." With that, he left Lori all alone at the bench.

**

* * *

**

Lori buried her head in her hands, not knowing what she should do. Suddenly – a jolt of pain ran through her body, but then she noticed that the pain was not physically. It was inside her. Anger was growing inside her body and it was burning her. She screamed silently, letting out the anger she had held in and fell back onto the bench.

She shivered slightly in her red sweatshirt that she wore, shaking her head in attempt get rid of all her thoughts. Closing her eyes, she imagined herself soaring through the sky with silver wings. Lori hadn't forgotten about the 'Caped Crusader'. She wished she could be like him. So confident and so free. Well, not really free, but he did what he wanted to do. He had wanted to do something good for Gotham and he had done it, by becoming the Batman. She just wished that everyone would see the same in him as she did.

Lori picked up her bag and slung it over her shoulder. _It was a bad idea coming to school. I did really need a day off,_ she thought as she glanced back at the building. Pivoting on her heels, she rushed over the parking lot. She crossed the closest street and hurried up the sidewalk. Glancing up, Lori saw the difference in the sky. Just some minutes ago it had been bright blue. Now it was frightening, dark, and filled with water bearing clouds. Suddenly bright purple streak of lightening danced across the sky. Within seconds a loud roar of thunder was heard overhead. She was going to have to walk five blocks to the nearest bus stop or seven blocks to the nearest subway station. Either way, since she was already in a bad mood she didn't want to have to walk in the rain.

Fearing she was going to get caught in the rain, Lori hurriedly started her five block walk. Lori only made it to the end of the block before another fight of lightning and thunder fight above her. As she crossed another street, she felt the warning drops of rain on her skin. As she gazed around, she could see everyone had already run for cover. She stood alone on the once crowded avenue.

But she ran along anyways. After only four steps on the second block, the sky rip open. Everything around her was immediately soaked. Lori picked up her speed to a sprint. _I should've brought an umbrella_, she thought as she hurried through the street.

At the end of the third block, Lori stopped running. _I'm already wet,_ she thought as she slowly strolled along the road. Glancing ahead she could see the shelter of the bus stop. As she went on, she thought of getting out of the rain under the roof of the stop.

Lori was so fixed into thinking about escaping the rain she didn't hear the bus rolling along the street. Since the rain was pouring so quickly, the street had a tiny river flowing along the surface of the sidewalk. When the bus drove by, it splashed loads of water onto her. Feeling shocked with street water sprayed on her, Lori let out a brief scream. _Damn that bus. You can ride to hell, _she thought bitterly.

**

* * *

**

"Here," a voice said behind Lori. Startled, she jumped. "Sorry for scaring you. Here you go."

Coming from behind her was a man who had a large umbrella above his head. Lori bit her lips – this man she had seen too many times before. Of course, it was Bruce Wayne.

_Why am I not surprised?_ Lori asked herself, sighing.

In his hand was a black and white handkerchief. Looking at him, Lori took the clean cloth and wiped her face off. She glanced at him and saw that Bruce was wearing a crisp charcoal suit.

"T-thank you," she stuttered, handing Bruce back his handkerchief.

"You're welcome. I saw the bus splash all that water on you. Where's your umbrella?"

Lori hesitated. She couldn't realize that he was still being so nice with her after the way she had behaved to him. "I didn't know it was going to rain. And I was hoping to get to the bus stop before it started." Suddenly feeling embarrassed about being sheltered by him she felt a surge to apologize. "I'm sorry Bruce," she whispered quietly.

"You don't have anything to be sorry for."

"Yes I do. I shouldn't have been so rude to you this morning. All the time since I met you, you have been so friendly and I… I have acted like a jerk who did not appreciate your help."

"Lori, stop…" Bruce smiled at Lori and put a hand on her shoulder. "Everything I did was just because I wanted to help you. And you…you were just having a bad time. I can understand that. Just a small teenage problem. Trust me, it goes over."

Lori grinned at Bruce. "Yeah right…" She thought of what he had said about that small problems would just disappear after a while. But this time, she didn't believe if that could be possible. There had already been too much chaos.

"Now you said you were trying to catch the bus, right?" Bruce asked.

"Yeah," Lori said, seeing that the same bus that had splattered water on her was two blocks away at its stop, letting people on. "I was supposed to take the bus."

"Alfred is waiting in the car around the corner. If you don't mind, we'll drive you home."

Lori considered her two options. She looked at the bus that was now leaving and then down the road she had just traveled. She couldn't see another bus in sight. Then she, obviously hesitating, looked at Bruce. Lori looked into Bruce's dark eyes. She somehow felt safe around him. Looking down the street once more to see a bus-less road, Lori nodded her head as she said "Okay. I'll take a ride with you."

Bruce and Lori walked to the end of the block and then around the corner. It wasn't long until Bruce pointed to a silver Rolls-Royce. Lori looked at her wet clothes, then to Bruce's clean suit and his sparkling new car.

"My clothes are soaking wet," she said. "I can't sit in your car."

"It's fine," he said and suddenly Alfred was standing in front of her, holding the car door open for her.

"It's a pleasure to see you again, Ms. Davis," Alfred greeted her. Lori smiled slightly and without saying a word she stepped into the car and so did Bruce.

Alfred closed the door, not quite slamming it shut, but with more force than normal and he got into the driver's seat. He made sure the partition between them was closed and set off.

"Thanks again," Lori suddenly said after a long silent. "For letting me ride with you."

"Ah, no problem. Don't think about it, really." Bruce smiled his congenially smile, and Lori smiled somewhat insecure back. "So, where do you live?" he asked.

Lori made her smile falter a little and she glanced out the car window. She swallowed hard and went on. "Right now, I don't really know. The apartment I lived in belonged to my stepfather, he bought it. And it seems like that now he is dead, I cannot live there anymore."

"Who told you this?" he asked.

"The Commissioner did. I met him earlier today." Lori shook her head and smiled wryly. "He doesn't believe I can take care of myself. Gotham is obviously 'too dangerous' for a girl like me," Lori said ironically and snorted. "They fear what they don't understand, but they don't even bother trying to take the time to understand it."

"And you do?" Bruce asked.

"Yes, I believe so. Or at least I try," Lori replied. "But most people don't because they are afraid of what this fear could be."

"I've never thought about it in that way," Bruce said quietly and glanced at Lori. "You speak wise words to be so young."

"Yeah, it's because of my mother. She always had an answer to everything that bothered me. 'Why is the grass green?' or…" She suddenly paused for a moment and sat still.

Bruce glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and saw that she was struggling with something. It wasn't until now he noticed that hot tears were streaming down her face. "What's wrong? Did I say anything or did I do anything?"

Lori shook her head sadly. "No, there's nothing with you," she said as she wiped the tears from her eyes. "There is just this one question I used to ask my mother all the time…" She closed her eyes and laid her head backwards. "Why do people kill?" More tears were coming. "I asked her that question the day she was killed… I'm so stupid…"

Bruce felt a lump in his throat and swallowed hard to get rid of it. "I'm sorry about your mother," he said, trying to calm her down. He could see that her mother's murder had a great effect on Lori.

"Thank you." There was sadness in her eyes. "She was the light of my life. I was only 8 years old when it she died." Lori peeked out the window. "Just pull in here. There is a small hotel where I can stay; it's on the corner of this street. It's right where I live, or lived…"

"Don't be such a fool," Bruce snapped at her. "I'm not letting you stay at that hotel. Ah, it looks like you'll have to stay another night at Wayne Manor. Alfred!" Flipping his fingers, Alfred pushed a button and the partition between them slowly opened. "Just drive to Wayne Manor, Alfred."

"As you wish, Sir." Alfred speeded up and set off to Wayne Manor.

Lori held up a finger. "Can I say something here?"

"No," Bruce answered snottily. He then sighed dramatically. "Okay, you can say what you want, but you have got to understand the facts here; you're staying at Wayne Manor even if you like it or not."

All she did was to nod. She realized that she was too tired to argue or protest, and leaned her head backwards against the seat.

"Will you tell me about what happened with your mom?" Bruce asked softly.

Lori gazed into his eyes and found that one part of her wanted to tell him, and another one didn't. "Maybe one day I will, but not today..." She closed her eyes, imagining her mother's face, smiling happily to her and giving her the warm comfort that she needed. Lori was tired and soon she fell asleep. But still, there was one memory which wouldn't let her go, even though she was dreaming.

'_Mom, why do people kill people?'_

'_Maybe it's because people want to hurt other people. Maybe some people just are bad people.'_

**

* * *

**

**Review!  
**


	12. The Beginning

**AN:  
**Sorry for the long wait. I have had things to do, but here it is. :) And please do me a favor! When you're done reading it, can you please suggest a suited chapter title to me? I don't really know what to name this one, but if you have any good, then please let me now! :) I would appreciate that!

**Edit:** I recieved a chapter title from waterwolf87 and I've decided to chose it. :) It's called "The Beginning" and I hope the rest of you like it as well.**  
**

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 12**

**

* * *

**

Lori slowly opened her eyes and looked around herself. The room was decorated richly, in deep reds and creams and golds. Instantly, she knew where she was, _again_. Once again she was lying in the bed in one of the rooms in Wayne Manor. It was the same room as last time, which made her more comfortable since she now knew where she was. Lori's first instinct was to look at the clock, as she always did when she woke up. Though it was early in the morning, Lori wasn't tired in the least. In fact, she was full of energy and did not want to lie in bed anymore.

Untangling herself from the heavy blankets, she stood on the thick carpet, wiggling her toes into the plushness. Looking down on herself she saw that only her shoes and her coat were gone, and she found the rest of her clothes folded on a chair against the wall. She put on her shoes and walking towards the door, she left the room and entered the hallway.

The hallway she entered was frightening. It was very long and full of statues and paintings with curious eyes glaring into her soul. The last time she had not noticed all the pictures, though it might was because she had been running like hell to get away from this place. Now she didn't want to leave at all. She found everything that hung on the walls or stood in the hallway very fascinating.

The eyes kept following her as she moved down the corridor, peering into the rooms with open doors. All she saw was majestic furniture, appearing like it didn't get much use. After a quick examination, Lori stumbled upon a room which looked lived in.

The room was formed in a rectangular shape. Against one of the short walls, there was a pile of clothes. On the longest wall, far from where she was standing, there was a window with an amazing view, and underneath it stood a bed. The bed seemed shabby, almost like if there was someone sleeping in it. When she walked closer and studied the bed, Lori realized that there was someone sleeping in it. And that someone was Bruce Wayne.

After some hesitation, she moved closer and gazed at him. He seemed so peaceful where he laid, like if there were no problems in his mind. Smiling to herself, she sat down on the floor and stared at the rug beneath her.

"Ah, Miss Davis, you're up. Wonderful."

Lori jumped and small noise of surprise escaped from her lips. She turned and faced the old man with white hair. He smiled friendly at her and Lori knew who he was at once. Alfred.

"May I suggest that we should be let him sleep. He was working late again and I think he deserve some sleep," he said and smiled at her. Lori nodded slowly in response. "Come with me and I'll fix you some breakfast." Lori looked at Alfred and followed him down the stairs.

"Sit down and I'll make you some good. What about eggs, lightly extra crispy bacon and hot biscuits with honey? How does that sound?" Alfred asked as they walked into the kitchen.

"Toast would be fine," Lori said, taking a seat at the table. She didn't look up as Alfred turned to her with an egg in his hand. Frowning, he put it back and finding the bread, he threw it in the toaster.

"You're not such a tricky person, or are you, Miss Davis?" Alfred said as he found a glass and poured some orange juice in it. Slowly he walked over to the table and put it down in front of Lori.

Lori hesitated before she answered. "Well… I need to have things quite simple. If there are too many details it will just confuse me, and probably give me a headache." She paused for a moment. "Please don't misunderstand me here. It's not that I don't think you can cook, because I bet that you're really good. It's just that… I think simple is the best for me."

"I understand," Alfred said kindly and placed the plate with the toast in front of her. "Here you go, Lori. I hope you like it."

Lori frowned when she suddenly noticed that he had only called her Lori and not Miss or something like that. She didn't really know if this was a good thing or a bad thing, but she hoped for the good. "It smells good," Lori cooed.

Alfred just smiled as she shoveled in the first bite. "Just eat up," he said cheerfully. "I'll just go and check and see on how Master Wayne is doing." Lori nodded at him and he walked through the door.

**

* * *

**

Bruce woke up the next morning, his head pounding heavily. Looking up, he could almost a glimpse of the sun, shining through the curtains. He pulled his hand up and rubbed his eyes gently, trying to be a little more awake. This was the first night in many weeks that he had finally had his long night sleep. But still, he felt as tired as though he had run marathon. He supposed it was because of the feeling he had inside himself. The feeling of that there was so much to do and sleeping would just be a waste. Rolling over so that he laid on his stomach, he put the pillow over his head and sighed heavily.

"Had a good night sleep?" a familiar voice suddenly asked.

Looking up, his gaze met the eyes to his loyal butler Alfred standing above his bed. Bruce rolled back onto his back and rubbed his eyes once more. "Ah… Uhm… I guess so. I've slept for the whole night," Bruce admitted and yawned loudly.

"Good for you then, Master Wayne."

"Yeah, but I'm still awfully tired," Bruce said, sitting up in his bed. "I shouldn't be sleeping, there's so much to do here in Gotham by night."

"Maybe there is, sir, but even Batman needs to sleep once in a while. No one can survive without any sleep. You'll only destroy yourself and everyone around you." As he spoke, Alfred walked over to the windows and drew the curtains. The bright sun fully came into Bruce's room and they could also see the bright Gotham skies. And for the first time in many weeks, the sky was bright blue. "Lovely weather we're having today, don't you think?"

Bruce nodded, showing his agreement. He was very silent and only gazed out the windows. Maybe this was how everything was supposed to be. Everything just being bright and sunny for the whole time. Why couldn't he just let go of being Batman?

Bruce was brought back from his thoughts and saw that he had not noticed that Alfred had disappeared from sight. He quickly came back in with a set of clothes in hand.

"Now you should get dressed, sir. Your guest is waiting for you downstairs, in the kitchen," Alfred told him. As Alfred handed him the clothes, Bruce snorted when he saw how fine the clothes were.

"Is this necessary?" Bruce asked. He sat up in his bed, rubbing his forehead.

"It`s part of the famous life, Master Bruce," Alfred pointed out.

"But I don't think Lori cares about how I dress," Bruce protested, glancing at the very expensive suit lying in front of him. He still didn't like suits; too stiff for his opinion.

"Ah, Miss Davis seems like a very nice girl, but still – you're a Wayne. And as Bruce Wayne you have got to look presentable whenever you go somewhere," Alfred told and smiled at Bruce.

Bruce sighed once more and stood up from his bed. He changed into the suit Alfred had found him, messing with his dark colored tie that fitted with the black suit. Shaking his head, Alfred smiled and walked up to Bruce, slapping Bruce's hands away from his tie, and adjusted it right.

"Thank you, Alfred," Bruce said, grinning. "I'll have to learn to do that properly someday."

"I thought I had already taught you how," Alfred chuckled. "But we can't do that now. Go now, Master Wayne, you can't let your guest wait any longer."

"Right," Bruce said. Running his hand through his black hair, he strolled through the door and walked down the stairs, keeping his hands in the pockets of his pants, wondering how Lori was doing.

**

* * *

**

"I'm sorry for that you had to wait for me," Bruce smirked, tapping the young girl on the shoulder. Jumping up and almost letting the glass of juice drop, Lori smiled nervously and placed the glass back on the kitchen table. "I usually don't get up so early. I like to sleep," Bruce lied, trying to make his voice sound true.

"Oh… that's okay," she said, still smiling a somewhat nervous smile. "Alfred made me breakfast…" Lori pointed at the plate in front of her, which was empty, and the glass of orange juice she held in her hand. "Toast," she told him.

"Good choice. I usually eat that too, though Alfred thinks it's a bit, uhm… dull," Bruce joked.

"So he always does that, huh?"

"Do what?"

"Trying to stuff you with food so that you won't be hungry till Christmas?"

Bruce grinned widely at her, and laughed a bit. "Yeah, and you better get used to it. I mean, you've already been here two times after each other. I suppose, this won't be the last time and I–"

"Look here, Mr. Wayne," Lori interrupted.

"It's Bruce," he smirked.

"Whatever," she muttered. "Once more I'm really glad for your hospitality, but I really can't stay. Soon I will be placed in a new home with two persons who would be happy to take care of me…"

"But will you be happy?" Bruce asked.

"Huh? What? Well, that's not really the point, it is?" Lori said, irritated. "They'll be happy, and I'll only do what I used to. Go to school as a normal teen, hang out with friends, and go to–"

"Work?" Bruce said, quickly. "You haven't got any work anymore."

"Is it a reason why you always bring up memories that I try so hard to forget?" Lori asked in annoyance."And for your information, I will get a job sooner than you think."

Bruce grinned. "I already know that. I've got you a job."

"You have what?" Lori's eyes widened in shock and rolled. "And how come you didn't bother to ask _me_?" she groaned.

"I wanted it to be a surprise for you," he answered back, smiling.

"Oh, it was indeed a surprise. May I ask where this, uhm, so-called job is?" Lori asked, still in unbelief.

"You know the company that I own?" Bruce asked. Lori looked at him and nodded slowly. "I made a little talk with Wayne Enterprises and we have decided to try out something new."

Lori tilted her head to her left. "What do you mean with _new_? I thought that Wayne Company had everything..."

"Yeah, but you see… The whole Wayne Company's thinking is not as modern as we want it to be," Bruce explained. "What we really need is the imagination of a young person's mind. Maybe, a young woman's mind."

"Wait a min… You're not… You can't really believe that I–"

"Oh, but we are," Bruce smiled. "I've already talked with our CEO, Mr. Lucius Fox and he agreed to my proposition."

"But that's madness!" Lori exclaimed. "I don't know anything about Wayne Enterprises and definitely don't want to ruin the whole company's success."

"I'm sure that you will not do that," Bruce ensured her. "Mr. Fox will personally make sure of that as you will be his assistant."

"You want _me_ to be _his _assistant?" Lori chuckled. "Look Bruce, you don't know me that well, but I can assure you that I'm not the assistant Mr. Fox wants. Besides, I'm only a teenager."

"That makes you perfect." Seeing her reaction, Bruce smiled pleased to himself.

Lori walked over to the one of the large windows and looked out. "Why are you doing this? I'm almost a stranger to you, but you…" Lori sighed. "You take me into your home, let me sleep here and now," she said and paused for a moment. "Now you have got me a job in your own company."

Bruce walked over to Lori, flattening his palm against the small of her back. "I'm doing this because I know how you feel. I lost my parents when I was very young. And also, less than a year ago I lost my best friend, too," he whispered softly.

"You're wrong. I'm nothing like you," Lori whispered. "You had a thousand of friends around you, and I – I had nothing left in this crumbling world. My stepfather looked at me as rubbish. All I did was to sit in my misery, and every single day I had to put on a 'happy face' so that no one would see me like I was."

"I wasn't quite better than you," Bruce said. "I ran away like the coward I was, hoping for that there was a better place for me out there. But do you know what the funny thing was?" Bruce asked, smiling slightly. "There was always something that called on me, begging me to come back to Gotham. And after a while, I found out that the city I hated so much was actually the one I needed the most."

"What did you do?" Lori asked.

"I came back," Bruce answered. "I found out that I couldn't keep running forever. In the end I had to stop and instead of running, I had to face my problems. You should do the same."

Lori closed her eyes, sighing heavily. "I actually stopped running for many years ago. My only problem now is to find the right path, but it seems like I'm blind."

"Maybe I can help you," Bruce suggested in a light voice.

Lori shook her head slowly. "You've already done enough and I'm very grateful for that. But here it is me and only who can help. I have to take care of my own problems."

"But please, let me help you a bit," Bruce smiled at her. "Do me a favor and come and live with Alfred and me here at Wayne Manor. That's the least I can do."

"Why are you doing this?" Lori asked, still having her eyes closed.

"There's something about you Lori. You're different from everyone else that I know, and I – I feel you in some way understand me better than everyone else, even Alfred."

Lori took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Thank you Bruce. I would love to live here with you and Alfred, but you need to know one thing; there's nothing special about me." She felt Bruce remove his hand and back away.

"You're wrong, Lori. You are special."

Lori heard him walk away, thankful for that this conversation finally was over.

**

* * *

**

**Please review. :)**


	13. Won't Get Fooled Again

**AN:  
**Yay, new chapter :D Hope you all like it!

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 13**

**

* * *

**

"Are you sure about this?" Lori asked, looking at Bruce who was seated next to her in the car.

Bruce leaned forward to say something to Alfred who was driving, and Lori couldn't help but take a passing glance at his elegant movement. "Yes, Lori, I'm sure. For the millionth time, I'm sure," he assured her as the car suddenly stopped.

The two of them exited the car, and Lori found out that they were standing in front of a giant building. She looked up at it, in fascination of its simple elegance and she smiled at the W that stood for Wayne Enterprises. As they approached the front door, Lori was still caught by the admiration of the trimmings and the stylishness. She looked at Bruce in awe and he smiled at her. With great resolve, Bruce opened the door and held it open for Lori so she could walk inside.

"Good morning, Mr. Wayne," the security guard greeted Bruce and nodded politely at Lori as they passed through the metal detectors. Bruce greeted the guard with a slight smile.

Once they were through, he grabbed her hand, leading her to the other side of the room where the elevators were. "We're going to pay Mr. Fox a visit. He wanted to meet you before your first day," Bruce said calmly as he pushed the button for the elevator. The elevator doors opened and Bruce stepped inside, waiting for Lori to get in before he hit the button. Lori took a deep breath as the doors closed.

The elevator slid to a stop, the doors opening up to a light room, a couple of computer stations, filling cabinets and tons of what Lori assumed were different technologies that Wayne Enterprises were working on. Bruce walked deeper into the room, tugging gently on Lori's sleeve. A man, dark skinned and wearing a fairly nice suit with a bow tie, stood by a door to the right, greeting Bruce with an open smile and a short handshake.

"Mr. Wayne. Glad you took your time." The man turned to Lori with the same open, welcoming smile. "Good morning, I'm Lucius Fox," he smiled as he shook her hand. "And you must be Miss Davis, I assume."

"Please, sir, it's just Lori. And good morning to you as well, Mr. Fox," Lori smiled as she shook his hand.

"Please, call me Lucius," he replied warmly.

"Yes sir," she responded with a smile.

"Now, let's talk about a potential job for you here," Lucius Fox said, exchanging looks between Lori and Bruce. "Your job as my assistant will be simple, but still it will be very important. Whenever there is going to be a meeting, your job is to prepare the conference room, and also serving us with anything we would need." He paused, clearing his throat before he spoke again. You will also bring me the newspaper and my daily coffee."

While she had been listening to what Lucius had said, Lori could feel how the uncertainty had grown inside her body. Now she wasn't sure if she wanted this job anymore. Lucius suddenly spotted this and asked politely, "Do you think you can handle this job?"

Lori swallowed hard and bit her lips. Suddenly she felt a warm, comforting hand on her shoulder and glancing back, she saw that it was Bruce. He smiled at her and winked. "I..." Lori said in a hesitated voice. "I believe I can..."

"Well? Is that a yes or a no?" Lucius Fox asked eagerly, looking at the young girl.

"Well, I..." Lori had problems with finding the right to say. "For now, it is a yes."

"That's wonderful to hear, Miss Davis," Lucius exclaimed and walked over to a desk, finding a pen and an already written contract. He came back to Lori and Bruce, handing her the contract. "This contract is just temporarily. If you could just sign it, the real contract will be put up in the database."

Lori nodded slowly, taking the pen and signing the paper. Bruce watched carefully what she was doing. When she had signed it, she handed it back to Fox.

"Excellent. Now, please excuse me and then I'll see you on Monday." Lucius smiled and waved Lori and Bruce goodbye, as he strolled inside the elevator.

**

* * *

**

Lori breathed heavily and let out a sigh. Bruce smirked at her.

"Well, that wasn't so bad, or was?" Bruce asked, smiling. "What do you think of Lucius?"

"He seemed nice. I kind of liked him," Lori told. She looked around at all the various projects that Mr. Fox was working on, and she found them fascinating. "What is all this stuff?" she asked.

"Inventions that the previous CEO Mr. Earle wouldn't let get produced. When I got back I approved it, and Mr. Fox is currently working on them now," Bruce said.

"Why didn't Mr. Earle let them be produced?" Lori asked as she picked up an object which was smaller than her hand.

"I don't know. Earle said it was a waste of millions of dollars," Bruce said wearily.

"I'm glad you didn't," Lori said with a smile. "They all look so cool."

Bruce didn't say anything, but just kept smiling. He glanced at his watch, then back at Lori. "How about we go and get something to eat? As you know, I skipped breakfast and you, well... A toast isn't that much, or what?" Bruce suggested. "Are you hungry?"

Lori looked down at herself and suddenly heard her stomach grumble. "Ok, I'm feeling a bit hungry," she said, smiling shyly.

"Great! I know some nice restaurants where we can go without being disturbed," he said, grinning. Lori nodded and followed after him into the elevator and back into the car where Alfred was waiting. "Alfred," Bruce greeted him. "Lori and I are feeling a bit hungry. Why don't you drive us to the nice restaurant you know that I like so much?"

"Of course, Master Wayne," Alfred replied meekly. Starting the engine, the car took off down the street. It pulled over a minute later and Alfred politely opened the door, helping the two out from the car. "Enjoy yourself and I'll pick you two up when you're finished," Alfred said with a smile. And with that, the car drove away.

"So, where is this restaurant?" Lori asked, looking around herself.

Bruce pointed towards the restaurant. "There."

Lori followed where he was pointing. _Oh my god... That's one of the most expensive restaurants around here. He must be crazy! _Lori thought to herself. "Are you sure?" she replied.

Bruce smirked and they walked over to the restaurant, a beautiful fountain was out in the front. They approached the door and Bruce smiled, holding the doors for Lori as she stepped inside.

"Welcome Mr. Wayne," the smiling staff greeted them. Lori looked around at the expensive looking paintings on the wall and a beautiful red carpet on the floor. Everywhere was inlaid with what appeared to be gold.

_Holy crap_, Lori thought to herself. _This place looks ridiculously expensive. He really does want to show off just how rich, elite, and extravagant his upper class is..._ Lori sighed softly to herself, glancing over at Bruce. His face was shining lightly with confident, a bright smile on his face. She didn't feel quite comfortable with being at this place and sighed. _Damnit... Why did you have to take me here?_

Lori followed after Bruce as they walked over to the maitre d' who smiled warmly to them. "Ah, Mr. Wayne," the tuxedo wearing host exclaimed as they approached the podium. "Your usual table?"

"Hello William, and yes, that would be wonderful," Bruce replied and grinned at Lori who smiled an uncertain smile.

The maitre d' called William directed them to the table, just centre of the fireplace, and they could feel the heat coming from the flames and the embers. Bruce winked at her as he pulled out Lori's chair for her. She sighed, knowing that she would never have gotten a spot like this on her own. The waiter took the order and swiftly walked away. Bruce reached into his pocket, pulling out his cell phone.

"Sorry. I have to take this, but I will be back," Bruce told her with a smile before walking away.

"Okay," Lori said in a low voice and watched him walk away. It was about now when she started to freak out. Looking around herself, she could only see rich people from the upper class, smothered in expensive champagne and glittering diamonds. Lori didn't really like the upper class. It frightened her to see that some people were allowed to earn so much, and then spend their money on stupid things.

As each day passed by, Lori knew that some people in Gotham were dying. And not only in Gotham, all over the whole world there were people dying. Seeing this people have way more money than they would ever need, Lori thought it was time they gave something back.

Wanting to get rid of her thoughts, she decided to look around the restaurant. Then she noticed the table a few feet away from theirs. It was a table of two extremely pretty girls and Lori recognized one of them much better than she wanted. One had an angelically face with sparkling green eyes and long red hair. _Madeline Duffman._ The other had a black, short hair with dazzling blue eyes, and she definitely looked older than both Maddie and Lori. Of course, Maddie would easily get a table here as her father was very rich. They were whispering rapidly and looking directly at her. She tried to look in another direction, but she knew that they wouldn't leave her alone now.

"Lori!" Maddie shouted above all the noise of people talking, knives and forks hitting the plate, drinks being banged on the table. Lori turned and saw Maddie motioning for her to come over to them.

"What do you want, Maddie?" Lori asked her, annoyed.

"Excuse me, but did you just walk in here with Bruce Wayne?" Maddie asked in her sharp British accent, her green eyes piercing into Lori's soft brown eyes.

"Uhm, yeah," Lori answered silently. The two girls exchanged another look and giggled.

"You're with Bruce?" the black-haired girl repeated.

Lori was obviously missing the fun thing here. Why were they giggling?

"Yes, and who are you exactly?" Lori asked the black-haired girl, trying to keep her voice cool.

"Sorry about that, Lori," Maddie said before the other girl could say anything. "Lori, this is Emily Carwin." The tone in her voice made it sound like they were very important. "Emily, this is Lori."

Lori put on a friendly smile, looking at Emily. They moved closer to her.

"I thought you told me that there was nothing between you and Bruce," Maddie said.

"There isn't either," Lori replied coldly.

Emily and Maddie looked at each other. Suddenly, the feeling of being the outcast washed over Lori.

"If you're not his date, then in what way do you know Bruce?" Emily asked, almost giggling out the words.

"Well, that's quite complicated and a very long story," Lori said, feeling very uncomfortable. "How do you know Bruce?" she asked Emily back.

"Yesterday, he was here and I was his date, and yeah, Maddie was with me. He entertained me for, oh god know how long."

"I'm sure that it was all night long," Maddie smirked.

Lori didn't know if she wanted to throw up or scratch their angelic face to shreds. Both options sounded perfect at the moment. Maddie was at her age, only sixteen! And that Emily? She couldn't be much more than twenty. Maybe she had been all wrong about Bruce. Maybe he wasn't more than the playboy he showed off everywhere he went. Still, she hoped that she was wrong and that she knew him different than they painted him.

"Well, that seems very – uhm, actually I don't have the word for it, but I can see that you really do what you want," Lori said, looking at Maddie. "That's nice." She sighed.

Looking away, Lori prayed they would get the signal. Fortunately they did and walked away. They were only stupid, catty girls. It had been ten minutes and Bruce still hadn't come back. She really wished he would so that they could leave this place at once.

**

* * *

**

Sighing, Lori walked back to their table and sat down. She rested her head in her hands, closing her eyes. Feeling his eyes on her, Lori glanced up to see Bruce approaching the table.

"Sorry for taking so long," Bruce said, smiling. He could see that there was something wrong going on with Lori. "Is there anything wrong?" he asked anxious.

Lori didn't say anything, just looked in another direction, making sure that she didn't not meet his gaze. They ate their food in silence, not meeting each other's look. A few minutes later Bruce broke the silence.

"Lori," Bruce said in barely a whisper. She refused to look up despite how gentle his voice sounded. "Lori…"

It took her some time before she finally looked up. Her brown eyes shot him a look full of hatred, before standing up and leaving the restaurant. A chorus of giggles followed her as she did. _Damn playboy._

Once outside, Lori sat down on a white bench, burying her head in her hands. She thought she had seen a different side of Gotham's Prince, but she now knew that everything had been a lie. He wasn't any better than any other billionaire playboys. He had only been playing with her, she was sure of that. Waiting for the best place to take his shot.

Bruce waited for a minute, rolling his eyes before he went after her. He didn't understand what had happened to Lori until he spotted them, giggling and waving their arms at him as he passed by their table. Clenching his teeth in irritation, he stormed out from the restaurant. Bruce stopped dead when he found Lori sitting on the bench, her whole body shivering by the cold. He slowly moved towards her, putting a hand on her shoulder.

Lori was too angry to notice his hand in the minutes, but suddenly – her hand flew across his face, slapping him. She didn't think of what he was feeling. All that meant something was that she had been fooled with. Bruce stood still as she did. When she stopped, she looked at him with scorn.

"Lori!" Bruce cried out. "What are you doing?"

"You know what I'm doing," Lori yelled at him.

Bruce was confused and rubbed the back of his neck. "Did you talk with the two girls sitting at the table close to us?" he asked awkwardly.

"One of _those_ girls," she started, "is one of my classmates!" Lori put a hand up to her eyes. "I thought you were different, Bruce. I thought – that you weren't the playboy everyone believes you are…"

"And I'm not!" Bruce said, waving wildly with his arms.

"Oh is that true?" Lori said mockingly. "Dating sixteen year old girls is not playboyish? Huh? Is that what you're saying?"

"Look, I didn't invite the young girl!" Bruce said. "I was only dating the older girl, but she had her friend with her and I – I just couldn't send her away!" He paused for a moment, looking at Lori. "If you feel that I have fooled you around, please believe me when I say this; I didn't want it to be like this. I'm sorry, Lori."

"No, Bruce. I'm sorry – sorry for that I ever got into this. I should have just stayed away from you," Lori snapped. "I'm sorry, but I'm tired of being fooled with. And now I'm sure that it won't happen again."

"Please, Lori. Can't we just talk about this?" Bruce whispered. "I'm only doing this because of my name. I'm Bruce Wayne, a billionaire playboy, a pompous ass… That's how my life is."

"I'm sorry."

Lori shook her head and headed down the long cold street. She didn't glance back, but if she had she would have seen Bruce's pale face in grief.

**

* * *

**

**Please give me some reviews :D**


	14. A True Hero

**AN:  
**Yey, new chapter ^^ Please read and review. Thanks!

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 14**

* * *

The cool night's breeze felt wonderful on Lori's hot skin. This was what she needed – to be alone with only her thoughts and her feelings. Lori walked aimlessly around down the streets, while staring at the city lights shining so bright above her head. She liked Gotham city at night because of all the lights, though the lights made it impossible to see the stars.

Lori had been walking around in her own thoughts and was suddenly brought back to the real world. Looking around herself, she suddenly overheard some people talking and then Lori suddenly realized it. She had walked into a freaking back alley! This was places where only drug dealers were found, or other suspicious people. What had she been thinking? Everything was different with this back alley than the last time she had walked an alley like this. Everywhere she looked there was men glaring or grinning at her as she passed by them.

Lori tugged her coat and pulled the small purse she was wearing further up her arm. A shiver ran down her back. She knew that this was definitely not good. Not at all.

Lori shrugged. Maybe nothing would happen to her if she just walked right by everyone and not giving them a look. All she had to do was to make it to the nearest bus station and then drop into a cheap hotel. There she would be safe. It was not far, just around the next corner and…

"Hey, pretty!" someone suddenly yelled.

Lori's eyes quickly widened in fear. That was definitely not good, she knew that. Trying to not pay attention, she forced herself to keep on moving.

"Hey, pretty! Pretty!"

Warning signals alerted Lori at once. For one, that voice was different from the first. Two, they certainly had the word creeper status in the tone. This was not good.

"Hey, pretty! Why don't you tell us your name?"

More shivers were sent up and down Lori's back as she heard the voice. Hearing footsteps, she froze. The voices were coming closer. Here she was in black jeans and a black shirt with a red hooded zip over, and walking alone surely made her pretty to those men.

"Say, pretty, why don't you tell us your name?"

Lori didn't move, she could see them just clearly now and she now saw that there wasn't just two men. No, there were five. A rush of adrenaline and fear filled her mind and her body. One of the men stood in front of her, only a few steps away. At both of her sides there was a man each. The rest of the nasty five was assumingly right behind her.

"Pretty, pretty, pretty…" the man across of her said. The man was a horrifying type of a man. Lori almost choked at having to face him. From the corner of her left eye, she could see the ugly man stepping closer and closer towards her. She no longer clutched to her jacket, but shook her right arm. Suddenly her hands got a grip around the only weapon she had. _Pepper spray. _The guy to her left was getting clearer and clearer, and to her distress she could see him withdraw a pocket knife out of his pants. This wasn't good either!

"We want some of you," all of them said, a slickly grin crossing their faces.

The man on her right began walking towards her, and the guy on her left stood only a step away from her. Rapidly, she did what her instincts told her to do, what her whole body begged her to do. There was no time to think about if the move she was going to do was the smartest thing. She didn't care; all she cared about was that she wasn't pleased with the current situation.

She had to get out of here, get out of it. She needed to get out of it, quickly. Suddenly she sprayed the tubby guy on her left straight between his eyes. 'Fatty' shouted out in shock and pain. Quickly the bald guy on her right ran straight for her. Without thinking Lori kicked the tubby one in the groin, and gave 'Baldy' his own share of the pepper spray. 'Baldy' swore loudly and yelled something Lori didn't understand.

Knowing that there was three other men left, Lori tried to run towards the fire escape on the left side of the street, leading up the building. As Lori did she tried to reach for her cell phone in her pocket, but there was no use. Two of the men behind her grabbed her before she could do anything else.

Everything she was wearing – her purse, her pepper spray, and her mobile fell to the ground.

"Pretty, that wasn't a very nice thing to do," one of the men who held her said with a cruel hiss. He hissed once more and Lori flinched away. The man who hissed definitely had the worst breaths she had ever smelled.

"What should we do to her?" the other man said, snickering.

"I don't know what you want, but I would certainly love a kiss," 'Hissy' hissed again.

Suddenly the three of them was forcefully pushed to the ground. Lori groaned at the hit. The other man who was behind her, got up first and went to check out who it was that had hit them. Lori tried to get away from 'Hissy', but he wouldn't move. Lori rolled her eyes.

_Either he's an idiot or I am_, she thought bitterly. Lori lifted up her leg, trying to kick as forceful as she could. Thanks to the hit, Lori suddenly felt that she was falling, landing that her ears were blocked. She couldn't hear a sound. What was it that had hit them? She didn't actually care at this moment; the only thing that scared her that moment was that she couldn't hear a damn thing.

The man she called 'Hissy' had landed on top of her and she pushed him away, giving him two more kicks in the groin. Crawling as fast as she could, Lori grabbed her belongings. The sweat was falling and she flickered. She was so glad that she wasn't wearing any makeup, or else she would have looked like an ass. Thinking of what had happened to her she most likely looked like an ass already. She stared down at her black jeans she had gotten from the day at Wayne Manor. They were totally ruined.

Finding her cell phone, she quickly dialed the number for the police number. She then grabbed the pepper spray and got up as she finally heard a sound. The sound was of someone falling to the ground. Lori took a deep breath. There was somebody who was saving her, either for good or so that he could have her for himself.

She could hear more footsteps coming from behind her, and those steps didn't sound like if they were from the five joyous men of stalkers. These footsteps sounded more certain and heavier.

Lori rose to her feet and grabbed the pepper spray tightly. Whoever was behind her was getting closer. In fact, he was too close! She turned sharply and was just about to spray her attacker or savior, but Lori wasn't able to. Her arm was caught before she could have dared to push the button that would have unleashed the pepper spray.

A hold was taken around her wrist. Panicking she tried to flinch her hand back, but he wouldn't let go. Glaring forward she was only able to stare right at his chest. Suddenly, Lori's eyes widened as she spotted it. There was a symbol and she knew what this symbol symbolized. Letting her eyes go down to her wrist, Lori saw that the hand, which was holding her tight, was black from wearing a glove. She looked up when she saw it. Suddenly all the fear that had grown in her body quickly vanished, replaced by overwhelming curiosity and joy.

It was the Batman.

**

* * *

**

Lori's breath was caught in her throat, and she looked into his eyes. His eyes were so intense, so shadowed… Lori was brought back from her thoughts by that a grunt was made behind her. She scowled slightly, knowing who the grunt came from. It was from 'Hissy'. Quickly she tore her arm out from Batman's grasp and turned to face 'Hissy'. He was standing up on his feet, only two steps away from her. Hurriedly she sprayed him with two large doses of pepper spray. The man screamed, disappearing in the shadows and Lori smirked.

Hesitatingly Lori turned around to only walk right into someone's hard chest. Looking up she saw that it was the Batman. He had tied up the rest of the men so hopefully the police would find them. The Batman watched Lori, seeing that she was still a bit shaken. "Are you ok?" he asked, seeming quite honest. She looked at her jeans, it was dirty and torn, and she knew her hair was a wreck.

"I'm good now. Thank you so much," Lori told him. She looked up at him again, seeing what she believed was a smile on Batman's face, but it quickly disappeared.

"I'll take you home," Batman told her.

"Thank you, but I can take it from here," Lori protested and slung the purse over her shoulder.

"Wait," he growled after her. "After everything you've been through this evening I think it is best that I follow you safely home."

"I said I could take it from here," Lori repeated even louder. Suddenly she grabbed the ladder hanging down from the fire escape and quickly climbed it. When she got up she ran as fast as she could up the stairs until she got on the roof. Glancing past her shoulder she saw that he wasn't following her and was just about to run to the other side of the roof, when she suddenly bumped into someone. Lori couldn't believe it. It was _him_ again.

"Would you please move?" Lori said, frowning at him. "I have to go somewhere…" She backed away a bit because his face looked so firm. She tried to pass by him, but he stepped before her.

"Where are you going?" he asked, glaring.

"Somewhere I can be alone," Lori said with a groan.

"Why do you want to be alone?"

"That isn't really your business, Batsy!" Lori snapped, turning her back against Batman. Suddenly she couldn't believe her own sight. Just one block to her east was the Gotham Police Department. She had almost got killed or so, and the police department was only a block away!

_Great help,_ Lori thought bitterly and snorted. Her glance shifted up to the roof where once the Bat-Signal stood. She missed it now it was gone. Every night before she went to sleep she had used to look out her window to catch a glimpse of the light. Now it was forever to be gone. It was only a memory. Still, there was one thing that was not just a memory. Batman was real, and he was here tonight, together with her.

"You can't keep running forever," Batman said in a low voice.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Lori said, frowning.

"I can clearly see that you've got some problems," he said.

"And I don't understand what you're talking about!" Lori said. "Everything is fine. I'm fine! I'm totally cool. And as I see it, you're the one having problems."

"What do you mean?"

"Oh, come on! You're supposed to be a hero, but what do you do, huh? You hide away in the shadows, watching Gotham as it destroys itself." Lori snorted. "Each day peoples gets killed by criminals and you do nothing."

"Nothing? I saved your life. Is that what you call nothing?" Batman repeated with a grunt. "And for your information, I'm not a hero."

"You are my hero," Lori said, giving him a soft smile.

"I don't want you to look at me like a hero," Batman whispered. All she said about his being as a hero made him feel bitter and angry. "I've killed people and a hero doesn't do that."

"No, but sometimes… even heroes have to makes sacrifices," Lori whispered back. "And they have to take risks, risks that other people wouldn't understand. Sacrifices that would leave them gaping in confusion and… You have taken that risk."

"And I regret it every, single day."

"Batman," Lori said tentatively. "People need heroes to believe in. They need something positive to counterbalance the dark, and to some people, you are that person. To me, you are a hero."

"But I'm not a hero. When I first chose to become the Batman I wanted to be a symbol for the good things. I wanted to be a hero then. But what I didn't know that what I was doing needed to take human lives. That's the only thing I'm doing by being Batman. Getting people killed."

"You haven't gotten anyone killed, Batman. When are you going to understand that? You've made _sacrifices_, but you're still a hero, whether you see it or not. You're a real hero, not a storybook one where the chapter ends, and you never have to see the hero coping with the consequences." Lori sighed. "Yes, you've done a lot of things which may not be good, but still… I know you did not kill those people the police are saying you did."

"That doesn't matter now anyway. I made my choice so that Gotham could have their true hero, and Dent was that hero. He should be your hero, too."

"Maybe, but he wasn't the one who saved my life. You did and that makes you my hero," Lori said softly. "I know that Batman has gone through a lot of things, and I think that taking Dent's place was the right choice. But it was also a choice not everyone could do, but you did. That what makes you a hero."

**

* * *

**

**Please review!! ;D  
**


	15. Back To The Beginning

**AN:**  
Yey, new chapter! Hope you'll like it. :)

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 15**

**

* * *

**

The night was getting darker and Lori thought it was even darker than normal. The skies were filled with clouds, waiting for the best time to release their heavy rainfall. Lori let her gaze fall down to the ground and sighed. From the corner of her eye she could see that the Batman was moving closer to her. He was just about to grab her hand, but she flinched and pulled away.

"I need you to trust me and just come with me," the Batman said, his voice being very soft. He reached out for her hand again and this time she didn't stop him.

"To where?" she asked and looked up, her gaze meeting his dark eyes.

"To a friend," he answered and his lips seemed to form something which looked like a slight smile. "Maybe he's not a friend, but he's the only one I can trust right now."

Lori didn't say anything. She wanted to ask him who this person was, but suddenly he pulled her close to him. Everything then happened so fast; the Batman running with Lori holding onto him, and she felt like she was being on a roller coaster ride. She closed her eyes, trying not to get dizzy, but she couldn't help letting out a faint scream.

Suddenly everything felt so peaceful, almost like a beautiful dream and she carefully opened her eyes, seeing what probably was the most beautiful she had ever seen. The Batman was flying through the sky and beneath her were the large streets of Gotham. Gasping, she held even tighter onto Batman, almost scratching her nails against his armor.

"That's not necessary," Batman whispered, looking down at Lori. "You're tied to me so you won't fall."

Glancing at herself, she noticed the rope attached around her. She breathed a little easier, knowing that she wouldn't fall. Lori didn't say much after that as she did not want to disturb him, and she was joyful when he elegantly landed on a rooftop.

"We are here." Batman turned to her, glancing at her up and down. "Come now."

"No," Lori said protesting, her voice being lighter than she intended to. "I'm not going to this person if you don't tell me who he is."

"Okay then," he said in that familiar deep, raspy voice of his. "We're going to Commissioner Gordon."

"What?" Lori shrieked. Rolling her eyes angrily, she turned away and walked towards the edge. "I am not going to that swine. I hate him!" She clenched her fist, remembering what the commissioner had said to her about the Batman. Smirking, she turned back to face Batman. "And if you think that Gordon is your friend, well then you're completely out of your mind."

"Is that so? I didn't know that," Batman said.

"Don't lie to me. I hate when people does that," Lori snapped. "And you know that the commissioner is not your friend. He's been hunting after you for more than a year. He hates you."

"No, no he doesn't," Batman said. "Trust me on this when I say that I trust him."

"It's not that simple! He talked to me about all these, these things that you're supposed to have done, and I… I don't know what to believe in." Lori groaned, biting her lip. "Listen, I believe that you didn't do it, but when everyone around me says you did, when even the commissioner does… It makes it so hard."

"I know," he said understanding. "Let's go now."

**

* * *

**

Lori followed after the Batman down the fire escape on one of the sides of the rooftop. He stopped, peeking into a window to an apartment. She did so as well, and saw that the only person who was there was Gordon himself. Sitting on the couch, his head lying against the wall, Lori saw that he was sleeping. Even though he was sleeping, he looked awfully tired and worried about something.

Suddenly Batman did a slight knock on the window, causing Gordon to wake up. Lori instantly moved away from the window and tried to hide herself in the shadows. She shot Batman a look, whispering mutely 'What are you doing?'

"Keep quiet and stay where you are until I give you a sign," he muttered without looking at her. He looked through the window, seeing that Gordon had risen up from the couch and was slowly moving towards the window. Batman quickly stepped aside as Gordon reached to open the door leading out to the fire escape.

Drawing his gun slowly Gordon called out as calmly as he could, "Who's there?" Lori eyed Batman, waiting for him to response or to say something, but he didn't. "Show yourself," Gordon said irately. The commissioner was clearly in bad mood which made Lori shiver. Groaning, Gordon shook his head and put a hand to his head. "I do really need more sleep," he muttered. Turning around to move back into the apartment, Gordon was startled when a familiar voice reached his ears.

"Hello, Gordon."

Gordon spun around and a man detached himself from the shadows. "Batman? W-what…" he stuttered. "What the hell are you doing here? You know that we're looking for you! Every cop in this city is hunting after you." He wished that he had something better to say to the Batman.

"I do know, but I need you to do me favor," Batman whispered.

"A favor? Are you out of your mind?" Gordon exclaimed. "If anyone finds out that I have been in contact with you everything will be over for me. And if it happens, this city will fall."

"I know it's much to ask for, but please…" Batman turned his head to the shadows and snapped his fingers. Slowly a small person stepped out from the shadows, head hanging down. "Commissioner, this is Lori."

Lori looked up to meet Gordon's gaze and the commissioner's mouth fell open in shock. She quickly looked down again, feeling a bit ashamed when she thought of her behavior against Gordon the last times they had met.

Gordon cleared his throat. "So," he began, "what is this favor?"

"I need you to take care of her, watch her so she won't get into more trouble," Batman explained.

"Trouble?" Gordon asked, frowning.

"Yes, she had an episode with some thugs in a back alley," Batman said in a low voice. "Fortunately, I was there to save her, but she won't always be so lucky."

Gordon pushed his glasses further up his nose. This was not an easy decision for him to make. Of course he wanted to help the young girl and give her the protection she needed, but if he did so, someone could find out that he had talked with the Batman. That would ruin everything. Maybe he could take that risk. Most likely she would only be staying for a day, utmost two, as he knew that she would soon be adopted. Sighing, he gazed at Lori and then back at Batman.

"Okay, she can stay for two days, but that's it," Gordon told Batman and Lori. He turned to Lori and reached out his hand. "Come with me then, you should get some sleep." Lori nervously reached out her hand and Gordon took it. "The guest room is available, you can sleep there. It's down the corridor and the third door to the left." He did a motion with his free hand, showing her the way. She nodded slowly and walked in the way he had showed her. When she was out of sight Gordon turned back to the Batman.

"I hate to see kids like her," Gordon said and sighed. "It's bad that Gotham shows them so early how cruel this world really is."

"I know."

After a minute of silence, Gordon spoke again. The feeling of shame washed over him as he spoke the words. Batman was strong and he had faith in him, but his duty was even stronger. For God's sake, he was a _commissioner_ and he didn't want to break the law.

"You know what I have got to do."

"Yes," Batman said in a soft voice, looking at him.

Gordon could feel the pain searing through his body as he slowly pulled up his lapel radio. "Sergeant, I need backup now. I've spotted the Batman." From the corner of his eye he could see a dark figure fly from the roof above him and into the dark heavy rain. There were noises coming from the radio. The sound of dogs barking and men yelling, 'It's him!' Hearing the sirens wailing, Gordon rushed through his apartment and out the door to the large empty streets.

From her warm bed Lori had heard everything and she could now hear the sirens closing in near the apartment. She now understood more of everything. Gordon as well knew that Batman had not done any of what the people said. This gave her a good feeling, the feeling of knowing that she was not being alone. That she was not the only one who knew that Batman was innocent. That was a precious feeling to her. Closing her eyes and blocking out all the noises coming from the outside, she finally fell asleep.

**

* * *

**

Lori woke up the next morning and looked around herself. She remembered everything that had happened and dashed out of her warm bed. There was a slight knock on the door and Lori looked up to see Gordon stand in the doorway, trying to smile politely. He failed. She gazed at him, but he looked away, sighing.

"I – I've told Barbara, my wife, that you're staying here for a little while, and she's okay with that," Gordon told her. "That is if you're not going to be a bother."

"Don't worry commissioner, I won't be," Lori assured him.

Gordon took a look at his watch. "12.30," he mumbled. "You're hungry?" Lori nodded slowly at him in response. "Good, I'll tell Barbara and I'm sure she'll make you some good. Okay?"

"Okay," Lori said lightly. "Can I use the bathroom?"

"Yes, of course. It's down the hall," Gordon mumbled. Once more Lori nodded blankly in return. She stood up from the bed and passed by him, not giving him a glance. Lori walked down the hallway and entered the bathroom, closing the door behind her. Gordon sighed again. There was something about this girl and he didn't know what it was, but he didn't dare to look into her eyes. Every time he tried they looked so sad and so alone, and he hated it. Sighing once more he walked out from the room and went back to the kitchen.

"How is she?" Barbara asked as he entered the room.

"She's okay, I think," Jim told her. "She's in the bathroom, but she said that she was hungry so I just thought that you could–"

"Make her food, of course, Jim," Barbara said, finishing his sentence. She smiled at her husband, giving him a kiss on his cheek and opened the fridge. She took out some eggs and found the bread. Finding a knife she started to cut the bread into thick slices. She had cracked them and poured them into the pan.

She had just cracked the eggs and poured them into the pan when the doorbell suddenly rang. She wiped her hands on a dishtowel and walked over to the door. When she opened the door her eyes widened deeply.

"Mr. Wayne," she exclaimed as she saw the young man standing there. "May I help you with something?"

"Uhm, rumors says that you and your family have a young girl here as your visitor." Bruce grinned. "Am I right?" he asked.

Barbara's eyes blinked, as if in shock, and she looked extremely uncomfortable. "Y-yes, we have," she answered, stuttering out some of the words. "But I thought that no one knew. Gordon told me–"

"I know, but things changed a bit and I'm here now. May I talk with here?" he asked and showed off another one of his confident smiles. "Of course, if it's okay with her. Don't worry, we're friends."

Barbara glared at the young man, watching him as he stood there smiling. She didn't know what to say. Jim had told her to not talk with anyone about the girl, or let anyone talk with her. But, if he was a friend, then it would be okay, wouldn't it? She let herself believe so and let in the young gentleman.

"Just wait here and I'll get her for you," she told him and walked back into the apartment.

**

* * *

**

Lori had sat in the bathroom for what felt like many hours. She didn't want to move, she wanted to stay here forever and never walk away. A faint knock on the door brought her back from her thoughts and she looked up at the door.

"Miss, are you in there? There is someone here who wants to see you."

Lori didn't know the voice who was calling, but she thought it was Gordon's wife. Who was it that wanted to see her? The only one she wanted to meet right now was Batman. Maybe Bruce as well… No, not Bruce – it wasn't the time to meet him now. And anyway, he was nothing else than a dirty git. She had wasted enough time on him.

Lori groaned and rose up, unlocking the door and stepping out in the hallway. She walked down the hall to get to the hall where the front door was, and there, there he was. Standing in the doorway was Bruce in jeans and a dark blue t-shirt. His face wore an expression of pained regret. He also looked worried.

Lori snorted and a slight smirk crossed her face; she had never seen him in casual clothes and it was quite funny. He spotted her as soon as she approached the hall and walked towards her. When he was close enough he tried to pull her into a hug, but she moved back and away.

"What are you doing here?" Lori asked, an edge in her voice.

"I wanted to apologize, Lori," he said, his voice absolutely sincere.

"How did you find me?"

"Your friend called me," he explained, a little uneasy. "Told me you would be here."

"My friend?" Lori said, frowning. "I don't have any friends."

Bruce reached out one hand to touch her cheek. "Really? I have it hard to believe something like that." He smirked at her. "Then I don't know who the man with the raspy voice was."

Lori's eyes widened. Bruce had spoken with the Batman. That was how he knew where she was. Batman had told him. Why would he do that? If Batman had known what had happened and what Bruce had done, he would probably have beaten the man dead. She smirked at this thought.

"What happened? Do you want to talk about it?" he asked softly.

"Thanks, but I'm okay now and I don't want to memorize it," Lori replied.

He nodded. "I understand. I hope you're okay."

"Well, yeah, but not because of you. If my 'friend' hadn't been there and saved me, I would not have been so lucky." Lori gazed at Bruce and back away even more, his hand pulling away from her cheek.

"I know and I'm sorry. I was so stupid – I shouldn't have let you go off like that." Bruce shook his head and groaned. "Again, I'm sorry. I was and I still am a–"

"Stupid git," Lori said, finishing his sentence. She smirked.

Bruce grinned back at her. "Well, I would have said a 'Stupid, beautiful, handsome and playboyish git', but that's okay."

Lori laughed at this comment. "Yeah, I think that's the best for now."

Neither Lori nor Bruce said anything in the next several minutes, but she could hear that Bruce was breathing greatly. He gazed at her, his beautiful brown eyes meeting hers.

"Lori… Please, can't we just go back to the beginning? Come back to Wayne Manor. I talked with Alfred and he missed you already. He's almost going crazy back there, and you can just imagine how he's going to be if you're not there for a longer time," Bruce said, smiling. Lori hated him for just that; it gave her a bad feeling towards Alfred.

Lori took a deep breath. "Fine, but you have to promise me one thing – No more secrets, okay?"

Bruce looked at Lori, inclining his head. "Okay," he agreed softly, with a somewhat sad smile, but it quickly disappeared.

Lori tried to smile back, too. Knowing that there would be no more secrets between them made this a lot easier.

"Alright then," Bruce said to her. "I'll just talk with the Commissioner and tell him that you from now on lives together with me." He gave her a smile and walked down to the living room.

Lori took a deep breath. _Okay, everything is fine now. I'm going to live with Bruce at Wayne Manor._ _That won't be such a big deal,_ she thought. But she had really no clue what she had just got herself into.


	16. What Hides In The Dark?

**AN:  
**New chapter :) Please read and review!

* * *

**Chapter 16**

**

* * *

**

After talking with Commissioner Gordon about her new living arrangements, Lori left with Bruce to pick up her things which were down at the police department. When they entered she had to sign some papers there before she could get her stuff. Gordon had also approached the department and he asked her once more if she was sure that she wanted to live with Bruce. Nodding silently, Gordon sighed and gave Bruce a firm look. The Commissioner couldn't believe how Gotham's playboy could be responsible enough to take care of a teenager.

"Take care," he said dryly and walked to his office.

Bruce walked up to Lori as she picked up one of the boxes filled with her things. "Let me take that," he said gently and tried to take a grip around the box, but Lori drew back.

"Bruce, I'm perfectly capable of carrying my own stuff," she said with a snort.

"Okay then," Bruce said, smiling softly and grabbing one of the other boxes. "We'll pick up the rest later."

Bruce followed Lori out the door and back to the car where Alfred was waiting, holding the car door open. Silently Lori sat in and Alfred closed the door behind her. Alfred did the same for Bruce before he sat back in the driver's seat. The car speeded up quickly and Lori watched as the scenery passed by in a blur. She then glanced back at Bruce and saw that he was watching her with a strange look on his face. Expecting him to say something, she was surprised when he only smiled that same confident smile at her. In his dark blue t-shirt it seemed like everything about him oozed confidence. Lori, who lacked this confident, found she was jealous. Irritated, she sighed.

The car soon arrived at Wayne Manor and it was a somewhat strange feeling that washed over Lori. It was not a bad feeling, not at all, but it still was strange. Lori unbuckled her seat belt and reached for the door handle.

"Just sit, Miss Davis. I'll open the door for you," Alfred said politely and got out of the car. Lori smirked as she watched him walk around the car. Opening the door, Alfred reached down and helped Lori out from the car.

"Thank you," Lori said softly.

"My pleasure, Miss Davis," Alfred said. He walked around and opened Bruce's door as well.

As Alfred closed the door behind Bruce, Lori saw that Alfred whispered something to Bruce that she couldn't hear, but she shook it off. She followed Bruce up the stairs to the front door and entered the great mansion. It felt like she had walked through that door so many times before. Smiling, she put the box down and gazed at Bruce. He stood in the doorway, smiling.

"It's very nice to have you back with us again, Miss Davis," Alfred commented as he approached her. "Now – I thought that since you've already are quite familiar with the golden room, then that room would be a suitable room for you. Or what do you think?" he asked, his eyes glistening.

"Thank you, Alfred. That's very kind of you, and I think it will be fine for me," said Lori with a brief smile.

"Oh, do not thank me," Alfred said. "Master Wayne chose the room especially for you."

Lori's eyes widened greatly. "He did?" she asked. From the corner of her eye she sneaked a glance at Bruce who was still standing in the doorway. It didn't seem like he was listening; it was like he was just standing there like a statue.

Suddenly Bruce cleared his throat. "Let me show you up to your room," he said lightly. Once again he tried to grab the box Lori had been carrying, but she got to it first.

"It's okay, I can do it myself," she whispered softly. She was just about to grab the box and lift it up, when it suddenly felt like a hundred of hammers were tromping on the back of her head. Groaning, she dropped the box to the ground, making all the things fell out of it, and she sank down to the floor.

Bruce looked anxiously at her. "What's wrong?"

Lori didn't raise her look, but only shook her head. "Nothing."

"Come on," Bruce said and sat next to her on the floor. "Say."

"I've just got a terrible headache, that's all," Lori said, rubbing the back of her head. "I think I hit my head that night when, well…"

"I understand," Bruce said and gently pulled her into a hug. "Is there anything I can do to make you feel better?"

"No, all I need is some fresh air. Can I go outside?" Lori asked.

Bruce chuckled. "You can't even lift a small box. How do you plan on walking outside?" he asked.

Lori sighed. "I just need to clear my head. I'll be back before long," she said, getting to her feet. "Are there any gardens I can walk in?"

Bruce nodded slowly. He stood up and grabbed her arm. "You can go out through these doors," he said, motioning his head towards a set of French doors. "It will take you to the Italian gardens. Since you now live here you can go anywhere you wish, except the south-east side."

"What is it there?" Lori asked, looking intrigued.

"It's a forbidden area. That's all you need to know," Bruce said. Seeing the look on his face, Lori knew that he was not going to tell her whatever she said.

"Okay," she swiftly said and started on her way towards the doors. Soon she was gone.

**

* * *

**

Bruce looked at his watch and sighing, he went into the kitchen where he found Alfred."I've got some things to do, Alfred. Will you look after her for me?" he asked.

Alfred turned to face Bruce with a somewhat concerned look on his face. He cleared his throat before he spoke. "Are you sure that is wise of you? Batman is a villain and you know that. Master Bruce, I have to ask – is it worth risking your life for it?" The old man spoke with his perfect English voice.

Bruce shrugged. "Gotham needs me. That is all."

"But you have got someone who needs you now. Not as Batman, but as Bruce Wayne."

Bruce knew he that Alfred was talking about Lori, and he shrugged once more. "I've already helped her many times. She can take care of herself without my help."

"And how can you be so bloody sure about that?" Alfred asked in a hard voice. "You told me just one day ago that she almost got raped. Now, what do you think about that?"

"See! That's exactly what I'm talking about. Batman saved her, not Bruce Wayne. Batman!" Bruce was nearly shouting as he spoke and he rolled his eyes.

"I understand. Well, do as you want, Master Bruce," Alfred said quietly and turned back towards the kitchen counter and the dishes. There was a moment of terrible silence and a bit hesitant, Alfred looked over his shoulder.

Bruce was _gone_.

He closed his eyes and into the evening's intrusive darkness, he gently whispered, "Just don't do something you're going to regret."

**

* * *

**

**lol, there will be some _more _action in maybe the next one or the one after that. :p just get ready for it. :D hehehee....  
**


	17. Revelations

**AN:  
**Remember me writing that there would be some action here or in the next chapter? Well, I decided to put it in the next chapter. ^^  
Well well, enjoy reading this chapter then. **:)**

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 17**

**

* * *

**

With the cool air hitting her cheeks, Lori's heart speed settled down, and she began to breathe normally again. Her headache was beginning to fade away, but she still had many thoughts inside her head. Why did things like this always happen to her when she was around Bruce? Why did he have such an effect on her? Maybe she was beginning to fall for Gotham's most handsome bachelor after all? No, definitely not, she was sure about that.

It was not that she didn't like Bruce, but she liked him more as a friend. _A friend_. When she thought of it, she had never really had any true friends and the feeling of that Bruce maybe could be such a friend felt good, and she liked the way this feeling warmed her inside. Although, if she had told Bruce that she had no friends, he would most certainly have not believed her.

With a sigh, she continued on through the emerald green gardens that surfaced one after another as she walked peacefully and smoothly. In time she suddenly found herself in the middle of a large rose garden filled with the most amazing aromas she had ever smelled. She looked around, but her eyes were only met by a beautiful view of the rose bushes. Lori smiled. She had finally found the place she had longed so for. She felt free and without any worries to think of.

Filled with a growing happiness, she let the wind's cool breeze get a hold around her and lead her through the garden. Every movement she made was as graceful as the wind and the roses themselves. It was as if she was flying and it was like this she would fly home – fly home and away from all the bad things, all the sadness, _everything_.

The girl continued to fly around, though her pace seemed to grow faster. It was almost like she was dancing. Alfred had been watching her turn every few second, and he watched as she and her lavender colored jacket got picked up by the breeze. The blue ribbon in her hair became tangled in her long dark brown hair. Alfred was fascinated by the movements the girl made, and he hadn't realized that he had walked nearer to her as he knelt down in the grass beside a pink rose bush, watching Lori.

The feeling of that someone was watching her hit Lori and she froze immediately. Whirling around, she found Alfred kneeling down in the grass. He smiled warmly at her. Knowing that she was blushing, she looked down, trying to hide her embarrassment. However, it didn't seem like Alfred cared about her red cheeks of embarrassment. He came up to her and gently put a hand on one of her small shoulders.

"Do you like the roses?" was the only thing he said and gave her a cheering smile. Lori nodded silently. "I do my best to take care of them."

They both just stood so for a while and just looked at all the flowers in the garden. Lori noticed that there were only pink and white rose bushes, but it didn't do anything. The colors were just as soothing as everything else and she loved it. In silence she thanked Alfred because – she felt happy now here with the roses.

"We should prepare for dinner," Alfred suddenly said, breaking the heavy silence. "I'm sure Master Bruce will be home soon, and perhaps join us this evening."

Lori sent Alfred a slightly confused look, but then she understood it. Bruce was working, _again_. Sometimes she wondered what kind of meetings that were held since it invaded Bruce's privacy. And she had the feeling that he wouldn't be there this evening. He was always working, always an important meeting he had to attend. Lori snickered. Gotham called Bruce a playboy, but how was he suppose to date supermodels if he was working all the time? After what she had heard, Bruce didn't actually have to work at all.

Shrugging, she gazed at Alfred and nodded to him. They were just about to leave the garden when she paused for a moment to admire the rose bushes for one last time. She bent down and brushed her nose against a rose, inhaling its intoxicating scent.

Alfred reached down and plucked a pink rose. He presented it to Lori with a bow. "A rose for a rose."

With a lump in her throat, Lori took the rose and began walking with him back to the mansion. Lori had never been given a flower before, and the minute she would get in her room she would press it between the pages of a book so she could keep it forever.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"You're welcome," Alfred said and they walked back.

**

* * *

**

The light outside was soon darkened as it slowly went towards the evening. Alfred had cooked a delicious meal for dinner, but as Lori had suspected, no Bruce Wayne turned up. Lori ate her dinner in silence and she regarded the long and empty dining table. She gazed to her left where the table had been laid for another person, but no one had touched it.

"His work has probably held him back," Alfred suggested as he cleared off the table. His voice sounded very convincing, but Lori thought that she noticed a worried look on his face. "Just go and relax. I'll call Master Bruce and ask what's keeping him."

Lori nodded slowly and rose from her chair. She went into the living room and sat down on the couch, resting her head against the wall. Her eyelids were so heavy and she had to concentrate and fight to keep them open. She then couldn't do anything more and let herself doze off.

Hearing a light snore coming from the opposite side of the wall, Alfred walked into the living room and found Lori asleep. He found a blanket and put it over her. Making sure that she really was sleeping he went into another smaller living room. The room looked like a library, since along all the walls it stood large bookcases. These bookcases covered almost the entire wall, except one place.

Along one of the walls there stood an old grandfather clock. Moving towards it, Alfred carefully opened it and set the two hands. As the hands on said the clock are turned to 10:20 p.m., the front of the clock went away and Alfred stepped inside. He felt himself moving for some time and then it suddenly stopped. Stepping out Alfred walked towards some large monitors and computers. He shook his head mournfully when he noticed who it was that was sitting in front of the monitors.

"I'm really sure that Miss Davis would like to have some company," Alfred said as he approached the desk.

"As I said earlier; Lori is almost a grown-up woman, she can take care of herself," Bruce replied bitterly. He was dressed in his Batman suit, only his mask wasn't on. "She didn't see you?"

Alfred shook his head. "No, she did not. She's sleeping and I think it's because she's bored."

"Then what do you want me to do, Alfred? Play hide and seek? I think not." Bruce stopped what he was doing and swung around in his chair towards Alfred, gently rubbing his eyes. "I'm trying to do something important, and it concerns her as well. The police have not done a thing on trying to find the person who murdered Lori's stepfather and her former boss. I have to do something."

"And," Alfred started, "have you found anything?"

"No, but I'm trying," Bruce said and shook his head slowly.

Alfred nodded kindly at his Master. "All that sounds well and good, but I'm still a bit worried about Lori. Now that she lives with us as a part of our family, I assume that she will need a friend and support, more than she will need a crime fighter."

Bruce groaned heavily. "You're probably right. But I promise you – I will find the person who is responsible for everything that has happened to Lori, and I will have him brought to justice. That I owe her."

Quietly he rose up from his chair and gave Alfred a glance. "Go back to her, Alfred. I'll be there in a short minute."

**

* * *

**

Alfred turned hesitantly back towards the door he had come from. When he turned back to where the monitors were, Bruce was nowhere to be seen. The old man smiled and as he had been told, he went back to Lori who was still sleeping on the couch. She had shrunk together in the corner of the couch and made herself as small as possible.

Standing like this and watching the young girl while she slept, Alfred suddenly noticed that he was not alone. Bruce had approached him and now stood beside his butler. Alfred nodded with a smile and let Bruce be alone in the room with Lori.

As soon as Alfred had gone away, Bruce quietly walked over to Lori. "Lori?" Bruce stood at her side, shaking her gently awake. "Wake up…"

"Huh? Bruce?" She blinked a few times, reaching up to wipe crust from her eyes. She softly groaned and sat up in the sofa, looking directly at Bruce. "When did you get home?"

Bruce looked away for a moment and then back at her. He cleared his throat before he spoke. "It was for a while ago," he whispered, hoping that she would not hear the hesitance in his voice. He didn't want to lie, but he considered it as the best. Smiling at her, he said, "But I didn't have the heart to wake you up. You looked so peacefully…"

Lori smiled back at hm. "That's okay," she said quietly. "I was actually having it kind of nice…"

"Really?" Bruce said astonishingly and tilted his head. "Dreamed about something beautiful?"

"I always do," she whispered and looked at her hands in her lap. "Every time I sleep my mother is always with me…"

Bruce swallowed the lump that had appeared in his throat. "You once told me that you would tell me about your mother someday… Is that day, ehm… today?"

Lori suddenly jerked, but quickly got calm again. "I-I…" Opening her mouth she found out couldn't speak and looked at Bruce helplessly.

"Lori… It's okay, you don't have to," Bruce whispered. "I've just always thought that problems should not be dealt with alone."

Lori nodded. "I know that," she said.

"Take your time," he said softly. "I'm not going anywhere. Not now…"

_You can do this_, Lori told herself. She took a deep breath and let it come slowly. "I was just eight when she died. She had been married to my stepfather for two years, even though she didn't like him so much, but she told me it was because of our poor economy." She paused for a moment and then continued. "One night my best friend from kindergarten was celebrating her birthday and I had been invited to her party. You should have known me at that time, I was completely different. I was usually a coward, or a Mom's girl. That night I was both."

Lori wrapped her arms around a pillow and rested her chin on it. "My friend, Lizzie, she didn't live far away from where I did – just down the street and around the corner. But I, as the coward I was, was too afraid walk alone in the night. I had done it many times before during the day, but now I didn't dare to do it." She closed her eyes. "I begged my mother to follow me and she did, even though she had her own things to do, just because I begged and I cried. My stepfather told her to stay and I guess that's the only wise words I ever heard him say." Lori leaned back as she remembered.

Bruce gazed at her. "Lori, if it's too painful you don't–"

Lori held up her hand, interrupting him. She opened her eyes and shook her head gently. "No, no you wanted to know and I promised that there would be no secrets, nor hidden thoughts or feelings," Lori said. Closing her eyes again she continued.

"We were just about to walk around the corner when my mom suddenly started to walk faster. I didn't understand why, after all, we were not in hurry. I didn't get it until a car stopped right in front of us, stopping us from making our last steps to Lizzie's house. A man, in his early twenties or so, suddenly jumped out from the car, smiling a wide menacing smile, and holding a knife in his hand. I froze in the moment I saw him, but my mom stayed calm and pulled me behind her."

"Lori," Bruce breathed quietly.

Lori swallowed hard. "My mom thought he just wanted her purse so she gave it to him, but that wasn't enough to satisfy the cruel heat that burned inside him. Viciously he grabbed my mom by her hair and pulled her inside his car, laughing as he did so. I stared at my mother, scared stiff of horror. She didn't say anything, but her gaze whispered to me that everything was going to be alright." Lori felt how hot tears started to build up in her eyes, but she tried her best to hold them back.

Lori's hands curled into fists. "He had just closed the door behind my mother when he turned back at him and smiled even wider. Everything from this point is just confusing. I remember that I felt his hand touching my cheek and suddenly, I saw my mom's cold, dead body fall to the ground, blood pouring out from her body. I realized what I happened when I saw the bloody knife in this man's hand." Lori bit her lip angrily. "The man looked at my mom's body, then at me before he smiled once more, like if he had done the world a favor. He then took off in his car, leaving me there alone. I suddenly heard screams and saw that Lizzie's mom with the other kids was standing behind me."

Now there was no use in holding the tears back. Teardrop after teardrop fell from her eyes and hit the pillow on her lap. Bruce reached out and laid his arms around her trembling body. Lori gazed into Bruce's eyes.

"Did they catch him?" Bruce whispered softly.

Lori sobbed bit. "Yes, they did. He was arrested and given three years in a mental hospital. The jury believed that he was mentally ill and did not know what he did. He killed my mom and that was all he got," she said angrily. "My life became a nightmare after that. No one wanted to talk with me, especially not my stepfather. I felt so terribly alone, and when I read that the man had been released from the hospital I wanted – I wanted to kill him."

Bruce sighed quietly. "I know how you felt because I felt exactly the same," he told to her. "When my parents were murdered I wanted to have my revenge, too."

Lori shook her head. "You don't understand. I had the gun and I had the perfect view, but I couldn't do it! It didn't work and I blame myself for that.…"

"Don't do it. That you weren't able to kill this man speaks a lot about your personality, Lori," a voice suddenly said. Looking towards the door they saw Alfred standing there, holding a tray with tea. He came closer and put the tray on the small table. He turned to Lori staying, "The fact that you wanted to, is not something to be proud of, but I don't think you are."

"No, sir, but I wanted to hurt him."

"Of course you did, Master Bruce wanted so as well. Both of you wanted to hurt them the way you were hurting, but not to hurt them for the sake of hurting. What you really wanted was to change what had happened, to bring the persons closest to you back. There is nothing that can do that, however."

They finished their tea in silence and thought about what had happened during the conversation. Every now and then Bruce peeked at Lori. It now went to him how similar Lori and he really was. They had gone through almost exactly the same things, except one thing; she had been alone while he had had Alfred with him. He intended to change it now. Never would he let the feeling of being alone come close to Lori again. Not so long he was there to do something about it.

**

* * *

**

**Please review!! :D  
**


	18. First Prize HAHA

**AN:  
**Here's some action XD Please read and review!**  
~Anette  
**

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 18**

**

* * *

**

Lori was sitting quietly on the couch, without really noticing, whether caring, about the sounds that came before her. Bruce, however, was completely engulfed, and one would think that he had never watched or seen a TV before. She rolled her eyes at him when she saw that he became even more engulfed when the next program went on. It was the local news channel GCN.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we begin this evening with what we've been informed as breaking news here in Gotham. Two men are killed by what bystanders says was the Batman. I'm Mike Engel, and we join you live at nine. This is _Gotham Tonight_."

Lori straightened herself up on the couch. Her eyes were open wide in shock and she looked back at Bruce who was still sitting just as calmly as he had done earlier. His eyes were still engrossed by the TV and he continued to watch as the program went on.

Engel adjusted the papers on his desk, as the musical signal and title played, preparing for the main broadcast.

"The police received a call from one of the victim's wife that her husband and his friend had been killed. Another witness also made a call about what is told to be a ghastly murder. One of my colleagues made a short interview with the victim's wife, and I have to warn you – the interview might be disturbing."

Both Bruce and Lori watched carefully as the scene changed to a dark alley with only one city light to see. An elder woman, probably in her late thirties, was standing under the light. Her eyes suddenly frightened Lori – they seemed to be so terribly filled with horror.

"What can you tell us about the murder? Are you sure that it was the Batman?" the voice of a female reporter asked.

Waving with her hands, the woman on the screen looked directly at the camera. "If it was the Batman?" she almost shrieked and pointed her hand up towards the dark sky. "I saw him! He came flying down from the sky, almost like a dark angel. Like the devil himself!"

The woman screamed even more and she waved even more with her hands, like if she was trying to show how it had happened. She then turned back towards the camera. "I always knew it, yes I say it. Since the first time I saw him, I knew he was a murderer – a cold, dark and blood-thirsty killer! That _is_ the truth!"

The scene changed again and went back to Engel's studio. He cleared his throat before he started speaking again. "I know that in the recent months, we've all been confused. We've all been tortured and made sleepless by one question and that is: What shall we do with Batman? When will this murderous killer turn himself in and declare his sins? Only he knows when and no one will find peace until that happens. And what is it that Batman, the caped crusader, really is? First we allowed him to roam the streets and take the law into his own hands. What will happen now? We'll find out on Gotham Tonight. Good night everyone – please stay safe."

Lori sat still as if someone had frozen her and everything around her. She couldn't hear herself breathe, but there was another sound that hit her. Behind her sat a calm Bruce. Even though he was calm, she could hear his heavy breathing and sighing. She turned around so that she sat opposite to him, and looked directly in his eyes.

"Do you think that it was he who did it?" she asked silently.

He looked back at her, but he didn't say anything. All he did was to shrug lightly before he stood up and walked towards the kitchen door. Looking back he saw that Lori was about to rise and follow him. He stopped walking and went back to her, shoving her back down on the couch.

_What the heck are you doing? _Lori thought angrily. She reached up and grabbed after his arms, pulling herself back up."You have no right to do that!"

"Oh, but I do," Bruce whispered and shook his head gently. "I am your guardian, remember? And besides, what I'm going to do is not your business and you have nothing to do with it."

"No!" Lori yelled at him."Tell me at least where you are going! Or else, I'm going."

"I'm just…" Bruce didn't know what to say. He bit his lip and swallowed. "I'll just have to go, okay? I'll be back before you know it."

Lori gave him a glance and sat down. "You are never around and when you are, you seem so… so mysterious. And when you saw this on the news, you suddenly have to go. Why Bruce?" she murmured softly. Please don't tell me that you're involved in something with the Batman. Are you?"

A grin broke out on Bruce's face and he chuckled loudly. "Me involved with the Batman?" he said and continued to chuckle. "Lori, please – At least think of what you're saying."

"And I do! It all makes sense!" Lori called out in a protesting voice. "Batman has different equipments that probably cost several thousand dollars. And this – this car he's driving… I've only seen it once but it looked quite expensive."

"So?" Bruce said in a hasty voice.

"So?" Lori repeated. "Come on, Bruce. As you said, think! You're the only person I can think of who has enough money to buy such things that Batman have."

Bruce snorted. "Lori, please. When did you begin to get such ridiculous ideas?" Bruce said and shook his head. "Do me a favor and put them away from the small head of yours. It's not strange that you get headaches when you go around and think like this."

Lori was about to say something, but then she hesitated. Looking into Bruce's eyes she saw that he was about to get angry and that was the last thing she wanted. Ruin their friendship. Nodding her head, she whispered a quiet "Okay" and put her hands in her lap. "I'm sorry. I guess I'm just a bit tired."

Bruce nodded. "That's fine. You should go to bed since you have a long day tomorrow, remember? Mr. Fox will be waiting for you. Good night Lori," Bruce said. He disappeared from the room, walking out to the kitchen, and back from the kitchen Alfred came.

"I'll walk you up to your room," he stated simply.

She stood up from the couch and followed after him, up to the room filled with golds and reds. All her things, all her books were nicely put in a bookcase. She looked over to her left were a large wardrobe was and all her clothes were either folded or hung up.

"I really hope that you can sleep here," Alfred said kindly. "Good night, Miss Davis."

"Thank you and I'm sure that I will," she answered and sat down on the large bed. "Good night, Alfred."

The man nodded to her before closing the door behind him, leaving her alone. She peaked out through the window and in a moment she thought she could see a glistening star on the sky, but when she looked again it was gone. As soon as her head hit the pillow she fell asleep exhaustedly.

**

* * *

**

A shadow was moving out and about this night. Leaping from rooftop to rooftop was a man with dark hair and clad in a black suit with a cape. _The Batman. _Getting himself higher above the streets, he finally stood alone at the top of one of Gotham's many skyscrapers. The night was silent. He could in fact the distant chirp of crickets a long way beneath him, the smooth rush of cars down the city streets. Sounds that normally were blocked out by cries for help. But tonight, Gotham was sleeping.

"Alfred, are you there?" he asked into his microphone.

"Naturally, sir, I have completely nothing better to do on such a fine night than to wait for your call in this grimy room you call a headquarters," replied the voice.

"Good to hear that," Batman said, holding back a grin at Alfred's usual British humor. "Can you check the streets for any suspicious? I can't see anything now. Search the streets for possibly activity in the last minutes.""

It was quiet in the other end for a moment, but then Alfred was there again.

"I've found one place!" he called out. "It's near the crossroads between James and Maple Street!"

"Okay, thank you Alfred!" Batman replied and turned off his microphone. He went down to a lower level where the Batmobile was waiting. He got in and the car soon regained speed and drove off as fast as it could.

Driving down the now empty streets, he went right down White Horn and to the right to James – soon he was at the crossroads. Hiding the car away in the shadows, he got up on one of the rooftops, watching the area. Suddenly, a voice hit his ears and he ran over to the opposite side of the rooftop. Then he saw it. An old man and woman were both lifeless on the ground, lying in the cold, wet rain. Examining the street, he could not see anyone, but suddenly – there was something that struck him hard in the back and he groaned slightly in pain. It hit him again and this time it struck the back of his head.

Reeling from the pain that made his head feel like it was going to explode, Batman looked up and spotted what he at least wanted to see. Another dark figure dressed in almost the same suit as him was standing before him. Livid, he grabbed the person and angrily, he tossed him down to the ground. The person hit the ground with a noisy thud and Batman followed after him. With both of his hands, he took a firm grip around the person's neck and looked at him straight in his eyes.

"Who are you?!?" he barked in a harsh voice.

The person didn't say anything, but Batman suddenly heard that he was laughing. No, not laughing like a normal person would. This laugh was frantically and clearly totally crazy. It couldn't be… Or could it?

Very hesitantly, but also so desperate to know, he laid a hand on the person's head. Then without thinking, he removed the mask in one sudden movement.

The laugh was back again and even more hysterical and frantically. It crawled through the airs between them and towards him as it escaped out from the Joker's mouth.

"Boo!" he screamed, laughing as he did. He laughed even more when he noticed how surprised Batman got as he almost stumbled backwards, letting go the grip around the Joker's neck.

There was a small city light shining down at the Joker's face which strangely broken its white color, almost like a split mirror. Still, his expression was clear – true joy in every white wrinkle and crack and scar on his face, his red lips spread into a spread, silent, bleeding smirk.

"Well, hello there. Have Batsy missed me, hm?" he said in a low, conversational tone. He laughed a very crisp laugh again. He turned to the dead couple lying beside him. "I'm glad you're here. Hehe, I thought that might murdering some innocent Gothamites would get your attention, especially since I'm dressed like you!" He flicked out his tongue quick, like a lizard.

"The Joker!" Batman yelled. "You're supposed to be at Arkham!"

"Well, what can I say?" The Joker cackled. "Some men can't be locked in."

"You're not a man. You're a freak," Batman said in an intimidating voice.

The Joker smirked. "You know, I don't think it would be right to call me the only freak here," he said, still in a quite low voice before he burst out a shrilly laugh. He flicked his tongue again before he smoothly spoke again. "Oh, do you want to know why I'm dressing up like a big, black bat, hm? It's quite interesting and some would also say… fascinating!"

Batman just glared at the crazy maniac and without getting any response to his question, the Joker just went on.

"The last time, I tried to make Gotham a better place, a place without rules. You know, I don't like rules and the only rule that I follow is that there are no rules." He smirked again. "But something or someone stopped me. Exactly, _you_ did."

"No, I did not," Batman growled. "You took everything, destroyed every last piece goodness here in Gotham."

"But what does that mean if I cannot get the first prize?" He screamed crazily, waving madly with his hands. Putting a hand to his head, he laughed softly.

"You've already taken enough from this city. What more can you possibly take?" Batman asked, moving towards the Joker.

The Joker smiled while pushing the hair away from his face. "Last time, I got the Gotham's white knight and turned him into something else… Now, how about we say a dark knight this time, hm? Come on, Batsy, wouldn't that be nice?" The Joker cackled maniacally, throwing his hands in the air.

Suddenly, Batman lunged forward and grabbed two fistfuls of his suit. He shoved the Joker against the wall.

"Oh," the green haired man gasped, rolling up his eyes to look up at Batman. "This will be much easier if you go voluntarily–"

The Clown gasped as Batman punched him in the cheek. Chuckling, the Joker rolled with the puff, letting his head slam against the brick wall. He was about to knock him over again when suddenly someone grabbed him from behind. Joker's henchmen.

Rapidly, Batman grabbed their arms and knocked them off. Joker's men immediately charged, but at lightning speeds, he took them down. Rising to his feet, Joker drew his knife and pushed one of his thugs into the fight. Batman quickly moved away, knocking the thug down to the ground.

Cackling, Joker stepped closer and began to kick the fallen bat, and reached out to stab him. Suddenly the knife stabbed Batman's left shoulder, but he rose up again and kicked the Joker down.

Looking around himself, Batman got his eye on the crazy man crawling frantically on the ground. Throwing away another thug, Batman looked up to see a dark van drive off. He had escaped. The Joker had escaped from him, _again_. Quite irritated, he groaned heavily and rubbed his neck. Blood trickled from the wound on his shoulder, but the pain was not great. But why did he care about that? There were other things to consider now, now as the Joker was back.

**

* * *

**

**I decided to put the Joker in my story in the memory of Heath Ledger.  
I hope that's okay. :)  
**


	19. Seize the Day

**AN:  
**I don't know what I think about this chapter. I'm having some kind of a half writer's block, so yeah...**  
Anyway, please read and review. :)  
**

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 19**

**

* * *

**

Lori was sitting on the side of her bed, staring out the window into a view of darkness. She had been sitting like this for some hours, not doing much than looking out. Lori couldn't get to sleep, though she was tired and wanted to rest, her mind was filled with thoughts about the future.

This day it was Monday, which also meant that it was her first day at work at Wayne Enterprises. She didn't really know how she felt about it. A part of her was having the feeling of being exhilarated, thrilled and happy. The other part was being worried, shaky and also had a lack of confident. The reason why all these bad feelings came up was because she did not really know anything about her job there, what she was going to do and things like that. This was bothering her. Still, she had a hope that it would be nice, thinking about Mr. Fox the day she had met him. He seemed like a good guy, very thoughtful and understanding.

Lori sighed and lied back on the bed, letting her head rest against the pillow. She felt tired, very tired and soon her eyes started to close.

The red numbers on the digital clock changed and it read 7:00am. It went off loudly. Lori grumbled and she smashed her pillow at the alarm clock violently. Finally she hit the button and sighing, she turned onto her side. The little time she had slept had been good and now she did not want to get up. Mumbling something incomprehensible, she buried herself under the covers.

Suddenly there was a creak sound that reached her ears and the feeling of someone pulling away the covers tangled around her arms annoyed her.

"Miss Davis, you'll have to get up now," a very elegant and smooth voice told.

Groaning, she looked up and met Alfred's warm smile. He was already dressed and prepared to seize the day. Seeing that she was awake, he walked over to the windows and opened it up, letting the sunlight stream in and hit her face.

"Way too early," she groaned and tried to sneak back under the covers. She could hear the old man laugh merrily as the covers was once more pulled off her.

"I'm sorry, Miss Davis, but it's a very important day," he said. He then disappeared in a moment and got back again, holding some clean, enfolded clothes. "Here are your clothes for today. Hurry to take them on, you can't be late today. As you know – duty calls."

Lori knew that using the word duty, he meant her new job at Wayne Enterprises. Rubbing her eyes gently, she sat up in the bed. Staring at the very formal clothes he was holding, she shook her head. "Thanks Alfred, but I'm really happy with my own clothes," she told him, referring to her black t-shirt and her jeans.

"Perhaps so, but I want you to know that Bruce bought this clothes especially for this occasion," said Alfred. "And I think he will be very disappointed if you don't wear them." He made a slight wink at her.

Lori snorted. "Ah, so you say that… Disappointed, hm? Well, we can't really let that happen, can we?" she said, smiling slyly. "Okay then, Alfred. I'll be ready in some minutes."

"Good," he said. "Breakfast will be on the table." He walked out and closed the door behind him.

She got out of bed slowly and walked into her own bathroom. Looking at her reflection in the mirror, she nearly gasped. Her hair was a mess and she looked awfully tired. She washed her face thoroughly before she brushed her teeth and brushed her hair. All her stuff had been placed nicely in shelves and she found everything she needed for her daily morning routine, just as it had been before everything changed. Though, everything felt quite normal, except that the bathroom was now as large her old living room.

She walked out from the bathroom and found the clothes on her bed. Removing her pants, she put on the black trousers. She pulled off her pajama shirt and put on a button up dress shirt. She pulled on a dark blue blazer and socks before she slipped into her shoes.

Walking out from her room, she turned to the right and down the hallway. She was starting to get known with her new home and she had learned which way that led down to the kitchen. On her way she passed a room where the door stood open. Lori assumed it had to be some kind of a library as the room was stocked with more books than any other library she had seen. Lori loved to read; reading had a somewhat soothing effect on her and it gave her peace.

Soon Lori reached the kitchen and saw that a plate of pancakes was placed at the end of the table, with a glass of juice. She could hear her stomach grumbled and screamed after food, so she sat down and started eating.

"This is delicious!" Lori exclaimed and swallowed another mouthful of pancake.

Alfred looked up from what he was doing at the kitchen counter and turned to her, smiling. "Glad to hear that," he said gratefully, before looking at his watch. "Eat your breakfast, Miss Davis. We must hurry."

"Yes, I know that already," Lori replied and ate some more. Looking up she saw that he was about to leave. "Alfred?"

Alfred turned back to her. "Yes, Miss Davis?"

"Where's Bruce?" she asked quietly. "I thought maybe he would be there, you know, with… me."

"Ah, well…" he started, sounding a bit uneasy. "He's asleep right now, but I'm sure he will come later. Now, you don't worry about that."

Lori nodded. She ate the rest of her breakfast in silence until she had finished every bit on her plate. She drank down the rest of her juice.

"Are you ready?" Alfred asked, smiling warmly.

She nodded and stood up.

Following him out to the hallway she found her coat and put it on. By the front door there was a small wooden table where a pair of car keys was. Alfred took them and politely as he was, he opened the door and let Lori out first.

The walked down the road to the silver Porsche and she opened the door to the car. She buckled up. Crossing her left leg over her right, she was a bit nervous about her first day at work. There was a feeling inside her telling her that something bad was going to happen. She didn't know why, but it was just there.

Alfred pulled out from the driveway and the car speeded up. Lori yawned. She sighed and looked out the tinted window. It only took 15 minutes to drive to the Wayne Tower. As they pulled up Lori stared at the large building with the letter "W" on it. She could see some men dressed in suits with a tie entering the door in the front. Lori took a deep breath.

"Good luck and have a nice day," Alfred said as Lori unbuckled her seatbelt.

"I'll try," she stuttered nervously and opened the car door.

"You should go, Miss," he said. "Business waits for no one."

She sighed and still being some nervous, she got out from the car. With butterflies in her stomach she made her way towards the entrance. Very determined, she opened the door and stepped inside.

To Lori's surprise, no one asked her who she was or what she was doing there. They just let her walk straight up to the metal detectors. It seemed that they knew she was coming.

"Good morning, Miss Davis." The security guards greeting startled her and almost made her stumble, but she remained calm and collected as she spoke.

"Good morning, ehm," she hesitated and reading his nametag which read William Gibson, she continued, "Mr. Gibson. Good morning Mr. Gibson."

"Please call me Will. And welcome to Wayne Enterprises," he said, smiling. "Mr. Fox is waiting for you in his office on floor eight."

"Thank you Will," she said gratefully. She nodded her head at him and walked towards the elevators.

She pushed the button for one of them and soon it opened, allowing her to step inside. The doors closed and soon as it started to move, Lori realized that she was feeling a bit excited and she smiled. Soon the doors opened and she got out, walking down the long hallway.

Lori looked around herself, she didn't know where to go and from the corner of her eye she could see that some business men were staring at her. Ignoring their glares, she snorted and continued walking.

She finally got to a large, open room where a woman was sitting behind a desk, noting down something on a paper. Breathing in deeply as she tried to gain some confident, she approached the desk.

Lori cleared her throat, which made the woman glance up from her work.

The woman blinked at her for some minutes before she said something. "Hello there, Miss," she said, putting up a happy and sparkling voice. She was in a bad mood, Lori could see that. "May I help you with something?"

Lori grinned. "Yes, I believe Mr. Fox is waiting for me."

The woman frowned and searched through some papers. "Name?" she asked in a wispy voice.

"Lori Davis," she told the woman.

"Yes, I have it here, Miss Davis," the woman notified. "You may go in to him now." She motioned with her head towards a door on her right.

Lori nodded. "Thank you," she said and walked in the door she had been told.

"Miss Davis, I'm so glad to see you again," Mr. Fox welcomed her as she stepped into his office. "How are you feeling today?" He reached out his hand.

"Thank you and I have to say the same to you. And I'm just fine, thanks," she replied, shaking hands with him. "I must admit that I'm a bit nervous."

He laughed at her as he sat down in his chair. "Oh, I understand that very well. I also thought it was very intimidating to work for some of the most competent businessmen in the world, who's like big fishes eating smaller ones. But trust me, they're not too scary," he told her and smiled. "Now, let's talk business." He stood up and walked towards the door, motioning at her to follow.

Lori nodded and followed after him into a large meeting room.

"Now, your job will be to make everything ready before a meeting or an appointment starts. You will also be my assistant and that means that you'll fetch me what I will need, like the newspaper or a cup of coffee." He smiled at her and seeing her insecure gaze he laughed. "Oh, just take it easy. I'm not so demanding."

Lori smiled back. "Oh, I… didn't think you were either," she said.

"That's good. Now – There will be an appointment in the conference room in not so long time. You can ask my secretary for another assistant. Her name is Cilia and I'm sure she will help you," he explained to her. "Cilia have been working her for two years now and she knows how to do it. She will be supervising you during your first time."

"That is very kind of her," Lori said. "Is there anything you want now?" she suddenly asked.

Mr. Fox looked up at her, smiling. "I don't think it will be any problem for you to work here. You're already doing a great job," he told her and Lori knew she was blushing. "And since you mentioned it, I cup of coffee and the newspaper would be wonderful."

"Okay, I will get it for you," Lori said and walked towards the door. She grinned; she was working for an important company.

**

* * *

**

Lori sighed at the breathtaking. Cilia had told her everything, also where to find the coffee and the newspaper. With the coffee in her hand and the newspaper under her arm, she was about to walk to the elevator and take it back to Fox's office, when it opened and he came out.

Lori had not been prepared for this and she was surprised to see him there.

"Hello Lori. How's it going?" he asked politely and grabbed the coffee and the newspaper.

The feeling of that something was wrong washed over her and she blinked nervously at him. "I–I… I'm sorry if I'm late, I was just about to get up to you again. It was just that Cilia had to tell me how to do things and I… I'm story." A torrent of panicky words flooded from her mouth.

Lucius rolled his eyes and moved his hands to her shoulders. "Calm down, Lori. You have done nothing wrong," he said in a reassuring voice. "It's just that the conference room is on this floor."

Lori blinked again, this time in relief. "Oh," she let out. "Well, then I will not stop you."

He nodded and walked past her into the room she and Cilia had prepared. She looked around to see if anyone was near her, but there wasn't. "Lori, you're such a moron," she murmured to herself.

**

* * *

**

**Read and review! :]  
**


	20. New Friend, Old Friend, Worst Enemy

**AN:  
**New chapter! YAY! ^_^  
And btw - Happy Easter holiday to everyone!

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 20**

**

* * *

**

Lori was sitting in front of the large glass windows, looking beyond the entire city, but the only thing she could see was a dark, empty hole. She sighed, shaking her head. Her first day at work had gone just fine so far and Mr. Fox had not yet complained. So far there had been three major meetings where Bruce should have attended. He didn't turn up on any of them.

Lori was now having her lunch break, but she was not so hungry. She wondered why Bruce had not showed up and she hoped that he everything was alright with him. Suddenly she was dragged out of her thought by a surprising, but gentle voice speaking to her.

"Lori?"

Lori turned around in surprise and her mouth dropped open. A young and also quite handsome man was standing in front of her. He was well over six foot tall with wide shoulders, dark-auburn hair and brown eyes.

He grinned at Lori. "Is that really you, Lori?" His smile grew even wider. "It can't be. Lori Ann Davis. _My_ Lori Ann Davis!"

Lori tilted her head to her left, giving the young man a confused look. "Do I know you?" she asked and blinked twice at him.

"Hm, you don't remember me?" he said, his voice sounding very shocking surprised. "I haven't changed that much, or have I? Well, it's been a while so can't blame you for not remembering me, but goodness knows I remember you." He nodded.

"You do?" she asked, turning her attention back to the windows.

He frowned. "It's me, Edward Nashton. Remember? You and I were best friends in kindergarten!"

As soon as he had said his name, everything came back to Lori's mind. She turned around quickly and smiled sweetly at him. A feeling of shame came over her as she looked at him and memorized. How could she ever forget about Edward Nashton?

Edward, or Ed as she had used to call him, had been in the same kindergarten as her and they had been like peas and carrots, always playing with each other. They had thought that they would be friends forever, until Ed had had to move away from Gotham with his family. Lori couldn't remember how many tears she had fell for him after when he had left. She had dreamed about he coming back, but years passed and she never heard of him. However, now he was here and back in her life again.

Edward grinned at her. "You really have changed." His eyes studied her. "The last time I saw you, you were just a bony little girl with braces and glasses. Look at you now," he said and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a hug. "You're gorgeous."

Lori hoped for that she was not blushing. "Well, we were just kids then, right? And you're not exactly as I remembered you either," she said as he let her go.

He smiled. "I'll take that as a complement," he said and sat down on the chair beside her. "So, what are you doing here? I mean, this is Wayne Enterprises, right?"

Lori chuckled. "Yeah, who would have thought of that? Me, working for such a big company." She cleared her throat before she spoke again. "Nah, I'm not a real business woman. I'm just an assistant."

"I believe that an assistant's job is just as important as anything else," he said, looking at her. "An assistant makes sure that everything is ready for a meeting. And if the meeting is not good, then the business will not be good either."

Lori's eyes opened wide. "Wow, I never thought of my job like that," she exclaimed in a somewhat upset voice. _Damn, didn't know that the meetings really were that important, _she thought. She shook her head. "Maybe it has something to do with the fact that today is actually my first day at work."

"Yeah, probably," he said wryly.

She noticed that he was still staring at her, which was actually making her feel a bit uncomfortable. Suddenly her eyes met his. They were beautiful, dark brown and filled with a joy which she didn't understand. Her eyes moved away quickly and they met the white-blanked floor.

"So Ed," she started off, trying to break the silence. "What are your reasons for being here?"

Edward's eyes blinked sometimes before bursting out in laughter. "I'm working here of course!" he said, still laughing some. "But I have to say, my job is a little more exacting than yours."

Lori blinked back. "What do you mean?" she asked confused. "What kind of job is this?"

He made a quick look around them, making sure that there was no one else in the room. "Well, I don't know what kind of title I can use about my job," he said in a low voice. Clearly, he didn't want anyone else to know. "But, as Mr. Fox calls me, I'm an up-and-coming executive here at Wayne Enterprises."

Lori's eyes grew wide and her mouth dropped open once more. "You're an executive?" she exclaimed in eagerness. "Wow Ed, you really have improved yourself a lot!" She smiled at him and put her elbow on the table, letting her cheek rest on her hand. "So you're working with the big guys, huh?"

Edward laughed. "Yeah, and they are some hell of beasts. I'm positive on that they are going to eat me alive some day," he joked cheerily. "Otherwise, everything is fine."

"Glad to hear that," she smiled and glanced at the clock hanging on the wall. Sighing, she rose up from the chair. "My lunch break is over, but since I now know that you're working here I'm sure that we'll get much time to talk with each other about the past."

Edward also stood up. "I'm sure we will," he responded and pulled her into a surprising hug. He smiled as he released her. "Sorry about that. I've just missed those."

Lori stared at him as he turned around and went out from the room. She quickly did the same as she went for the elevators and prepared herself to start working again.

**

* * *

**

As almost the same time as Lori got ready for her next hours with works, the sun was streaming through the windows to the billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne. His shoulder was hurting like hell and his head felt like as if a train had run him over. For the whole night he had been trying to get some sleep, but he had not succeeded.

Lying in his bed, growling loudly every now and then in great pain, he turned to lie on his left, just in time to see Alfred enter the master bedroom. In his hands, he held a bowl filled with hot water and there was a towel hanging over his arm. Under his left arm he had the first-aid kit. Putting everything on the bed stand, Alfred sat down on a chair beside the bed.

"How are you feeling, Master Wayne?" Alfred asked softly as he carefully removed the blankets swirled around Bruce, so that he could easier see the wound on his shoulder. Bruce let out a pained groan as his butler removed the bandages.

Alfred sighed. Even though Alfred had done his best to sew up the wound it was still bleeding a lot, making his Master lose very much blood. He grabbed the towel, soaked it in the hot water and put it over the wound. Once more Bruce let out a groan in pain and Alfred hated to see him like this. Still, he knew he had to make sure that there would be no infections because that would be much worse.

"Easy, Master Bruce, it all has to be done," Alfred told as he disinfected the wound. He found some new bandages in the first-aid kit and tied it around the wound. "That was everything."

Bruce groaned, but he then he suddenly remembered. "He's back!" he exclaimed, opening his eyes. He was just about to rise up from the bed until he felt the dreadful pain in his shoulder wreck through his entire body.

Alfred came to his help at once, helping him to lie back down. "You need to rest," Alfred said strictly, while he propped up the pillows. "And who is this person who has come back?"

Bruce glanced at Alfred. He was a little unsure whether he should tell it to Alfred or not. He wouldn't frighten him or anything, and to say that the Joker had come back was perhaps then not the best to say. On the other hand he had told things about the Joker to Alfred before so it could really be the same. Clearing his throat, Bruce turned to stare out the windows.

"I… I thought that everything, that everything would go to an end. But I can see it clearly now. There is no end and everything will just continue until I do what they want." Bruce was breathing heavily.

"What are you talking about?" Alfred asked, a worried look crossing his face.

"Everything is changed and it can't be reversed. I didn't know that, but I do know. After he did all those things, destroying every citizen of Gotham's reasons to believe there would be hope," Bruce said silently. "And for him, everything was just a game he had to win. But he didn't and now I have to pay for that."

"For Christ's sake, tell me what you're talking about!" Alfred exclaimed, staring at Bruce.

Bruce turned to meet his butler's gaze. "_He_ has escaped. The Joker has escaped from Arkham."

Alfred blinked once and there was a heavy silence. "Oh my lord," he blurted out after a while. "What more could he possibly want from this city?"

Bruce shook his head. "The Batman. He wants me and this time he wants to kill me."

"That's not going to happen," Alfred said sternly. "You can't let it happen."

Bruce sighed. "Can't I? Maybe if I do, things will get a lot easier."

"Do you believe that?" Alfred asked in a harsh tone. He waited, but since Bruce didn't answer he went on. "Look at this city! This used to be the beautiful city your father and your ancestors before you built up. If you give in, what's going to happen with it then? It needs you."

"This city is already dying and it will, whether you like it or not, it will be destroyed." Bruce let out a harsh laugh. "Not even Batman can stop it from happening."

"I don't understand me on you," Alfred said calmly. "Are you the Bruce Wayne I raised and treated as my own, or are you not? Because right now, you're sounding like no one else than that crazy psychopath and all the other villains."

"I must be pathetic," Bruce whispered and leaned back against the pillows.

"If I may say so, then yes, quite pathetic," Alfred said, trying to smile impishly at Bruce.

"What time is it?" Bruce asked.

Alfred checked his watch. "1:30 PM. Why?"

Bruce groaned. "I've missed three important meetings," he said quite annoyed. "And Lori… I should probably check on her, see how things are going."

"Sure you're okay to do that? Your wound needs rest," Alfred pointed out.

"It's nothing, Alfred, I'll be alright," Bruce said. Still, Bruce knew that Alfred turned concerned and anxious when Bruce groaned as he rose up from the bed. "Please make the car ready," he said to Alfred as he went to the bathroom to get himself dressed.

* * *

Lori had leaned back down in one of the chairs, having short break from her work. She was reading the newspaper to see if there was anything new about the murders that had been going on, but she didn't find anything. Peeking up from the newspaper she could see that the woman behind the desk, formally known as Mrs. Folchart, was looking at her every now and then. Ignoring her glances, Lori kept reading the news.

Suddenly Mrs. Folchart phone rang and she answered instantly. Lori didn't hear what she was saying, but she then motioned at her to come up. The phone was for Lori.

"Yes, this is Lori Davis?" she said polite.

"Lori, this is Lucius," the nice and warmly voice said. Lori smiled. He wouldn't have to introduce himself; she would have recognized his voice anyway.

"Hello Lucius. Is there anything I can do for you?" she asked.

"Yes there is," he answered. "Will you please prepare the conference room for Mr. Wayne and I? Serve the usual to drink – water and coffee."

Bruce was coming? Lori could feel her heart skip a beat faster.

"Yes, of course I will," she replied. "It will be ready for you as soon as possible."

It sounded like Lucius was chuckling in the other end. "Good, and one more thing – when you're finished, you're done for today."

"Okay, thank you, Mr. Fox," Lori said and smiled, like if he could see her. It got quiet in the other end and Lori reached out to give Mrs. Folchart the phone back, but then she drew it back. "I need to call Cilia." Mrs. Folchart just nodded and continued doing her own stuff.

The phone rang some times before she got through. "Hi Cilia, it is Lori. Will you please prepare the conference room?" she asked.

"Of course Lori. Anyone special coming?" she asked curiously.

"_He_ is coming," she replied. _The infamous bachelor who appears to be my guardian_, she thought wryly.

"You mean _the_ Wayne? Oh, he's so handsome!" Cilia remarked.

"Well, he sure knows his affections to women," she said.

"Yeah and speaking of which," Cilia continued, "aren't you in his custody? I'm sure you know everything about him then…"

"Oh, just shut it and get the room ready," she said and hung up.

Lori walked down the hallway and into the conference room. Cilia had not showed up yet so she began to make it ready. She was surprised by her cell phone ringing.

"Hello?" she said.

"Hi, it's me Cilia. Which conference room was it again?" Cilia asked.

Lori sighed. "It's the usual one," she answered.

"Got it!" Cilia responded quickly. "I'll be there soon."

Lori smiled as she hung up once more. She was just about to put the phone down when she accidently unhooked one of her small earrings. She tried an unsuccessful attempt to catch it, but it fell too quickly and disappeared.

Bending down on her knees, she started to look for her earring, but it was nowhere to be found. "Damn, why would I ever wear earrings?" she murmured to herself. She crawled between the chairs and went down under the large glass table. Still she didn't find it.

**

* * *

**

Hearing that the door went up, Lori breathed out in relief.

"Cilia, please, help me find my earring," she said softly.

"Here it is!"

The voice surprised her and due to her reaction, it made her hit her head up against the table. Putting a hand on the back of her head and rubbing it gently, she pulled up from the floor.

"Ouuch," she said as she swirled around to see the person holding her earring. A smile came up on her face. "Ed, what are you doing in here?" she asked.

Edward smiled. "I just passed by the room, heard some strange sounds and found you crawling on the floor, looking for an earring."

"Really now?" she said. Her voice sounded a bit suspicious and she spoke slowly.

"Really," he replied using the same slow speed as she just had. Then he smiled. "No, actually there was another reason why I was looking for you." He still smiled as he handed her the earring.

"Thanks," she said as she took it and put it back on. "Now, what is this other reason of yours?"

"What are you doing after work?" he asked softly, his warmest smile cranked up to maximum wattage.

Lori blinked and then smiled softly. "Well, I figure I have a couple of options. I can go home, eat a nice dinner and then take a hot warm shower before bed. Or I can see what you're up to."

"I fancy option number two, myself," Ed said with a wink. Lori laughed and then sighed. She held up her hand, playing with the earring she had just got back.

"I like it too, Ed. But just a friendly outing, okay? I… Well, I'm not so into dating things," she said quietly.

Edward's face seemed to fall a bit, but he put on his smile again. "I understand. Anyway, a friendly evening will be nice, too." He reached out and his hand touched hers.

"Alright then. I've just got to talk with my guardian about it first, so that he won't be worried or anything," she said with a slightly wicked grin.

Ed seemed confused. "You have a guardian? What happened with your mother, or your stepfather?" he asked. "I hope your guardian is nice anyway."

Lori managed to smile. "Listen, ehm… We can talk such things when we're out, but not now, okay? I need to find my guardian," she said and headed for the doors.

"Your guardian works here?"

Lori laughed. "Actually, he owns this company."

Edward's eyes widened. "What? Your guardian is the playboy ass?" he asked in a voice just a little too high.

"His name is Bruce Wayne. And yes. The playboy ass. And if you want to take back your invitation, I'm okay with that," she said firmly.

"No no. Why would I take it back? You're only living with him; that doesn't mean that you're dating him or anything," he said. "And I'd still like to hang out with you."

Lori nodded. "I get off in fifteen minutes."

"Greatness," Edward exclaimed. "I'll meet you outside then."

Edward realized he was still having his hand on hers. He lifted his hand and watched her walk out from the conference room_. Damn, she is beautiful, _he thought. But there was something bothering him. He didn't like the thought of Bruce Wayne as her guardian. He had seen Wayne together with girls at Lori's age before and he didn't want that to happen. However, this evening he needed a friendly company. A friendship he had missed for so long time and finally was his again.

**

* * *

**

**Please review. :3  
**


	21. The Burning Tower

**AN:  
**New chapter.  
Hope you'll enjoy reading and please give me some review when you have! :]  
Thank you!

* * *

**Chapter 21**

* * *

Bruce yawned deeply as the car pulled over into a parking spot around 2 pm. The sun was shining and streets were filled with people going in different directions. Alfred turned around from the driver seat and looked back at Bruce, with a concerned look on his face.

"I really hope that this meeting is worth going since you're so bloody stupid to attend it when you have wounds which need to be healed," he said. His voice sounded irritated, but he didn't want to show it.

Bruce grinned. "The wounds will heal anyway. And besides – it's not a real meeting," he said. He looked out the window for a short moment and then back, only to see Alfred furrowing his eyebrows. Before Alfred got the chance to say something, Bruce quickly said, "I'm going talk with Mr. Fox about some new equipment."

"What new equipment?" Alfred asked.

"My armor," Bruce replied with a sigh. "I'm weak against knives. They'll easily stab through."

Alfred nodded, showing his understand. "Yes, I thought that you would do so."

"It won't take long, but I'll see if Lori is still here. Maybe we can go out and eat together. I'm sure she would appreciate that." Bruce quickly looked at his watch. "I'll have to go now." He unbuckled his seatbelt and opened the car door. "Have a nice day, Alfred."

Alfred smiled. "Shouldn't it be me saying that to you?"

Bruce grinned as he stepped out from the nice car and closed the door behind himself. He watched as the car took off and then slowly turned to face the Wayne Enterprises building. Smiling he pushed the large doors open and stepped inside.

He had only walked a few steps when someone suddenly called his name. He faced to his right to see if there was anyone there, but he didn't find anyone. Feeling someone tucking his left shirtsleeve, he turned to see Lori's smiling face.

"Hi Lori," he said, smiling back at her. Without thinking he wrapped his arms around her to pull her into a hug. Realizing that people were staring, he let her go.

Lori had gotten a little surprised by this unexpected hug, but she was still smiling. "I'm really glad to see you, too," she said kindly. "I was actually looking for you and I knew you were coming since I've prepared the conference room for you and Mr. Fox."

"Oh, you have? Then I'll have to look carefully to see if I'm satisfied," he said jokingly. "Anyway, why were you looking for me?"

Lori quickly gazed around herself and then turned her eyes back at Bruce. "I'm going out tonight," she said swiftly, but he heard it.

Bruce smiled. "Yes, I know. You're going out with me. I'm free tonight. No work or any parties to attend. Just you and I like a family."

Lori's mouth dropped open and she looked awfully stunned. Realizing that her mouth was open, she quickly closed it and cleared her throat. "Bruce," she started hesitantly, not quite finding the right words. "I'm sorry, but I was actually talking about me going out with a friend."

This time it was Bruce who seemed very shocked. He blinked a few times at her. "A friend?" he said in a suspicious voice. "And may I ask who this so-called friend is?"

Lori rolled her eyes at him. "His name is Edward Nashton and he_ is_ my friend. He is also working here _in_ your company."

Bruce chuckled. "Oh, you're talking about him? Yes, I've met him sometimes – A hard worker, always having these ideas."

"Yes, he's very creative," she said, nodding. "So, is it okay that I'm going out with–"

She stopped speaking as Bruce raised his hand, interrupting her. "I'm still considering it," he said in a low tone. "How did you get to know this guy? Did you meet him today?"

Lori shrugged. "I guess you can say so. Or I mean – I've known him since we were in kindergarten, but I first met him today after ten years."

"Aha," was all he said. He snorted. "Well, I see no reason to not allow you go."

Lori's eyes opened wide. "You mean it?" she asked and he nodded. "Thank you, Bruce. And please believe me when I say that I'm really sorry because I am."

"Nah, that's okay," Bruce said, forcing a smile. "You really should go out and meet people. It will do you good. Have some fun, kid."

Lori made a face as he called her _kid_. "I won't be late, I promise." And then she headed for the door.

* * *

Bruce pushed the large glass door open and was met by a great light. The sun shone through the large windows and right across the room, a man was standing right by the windows. He smiled and walked over to the man, clasping his hands together.

"Lucius," Bruce said with a warm smile and held out his hand. "How's the day?"

"Very good Mr. Wayne. Nothing, but the usual." Lucius smiled back and shook Bruce's hand. "Now, since you called me so very urgent, I assume that there something special you wanted to talk about. Am I right?"

Bruce grinned, briefly looking down at the floor and then back up. He nodded swiftly. "Yes, there was one thing," he said, quickly checking if there was anyone who could possibly hear them. Fortunately there wasn't.

"Just tell me and I will see what I can do," Lucius told him. Bruce looked at him. Lucius was a good man to have around.

"My suit," Bruce started. "After the last changes, it has made me weak against knives. They easily stab through. Anything you can do about that?"

Lucius smiled. "Well, not as I know right now, but I will check it out for you," he answered. "I'll give you a call when I've got something." He made a slight head movement, which Bruce replied with a nod, and then walked towards the door, leaving Bruce in the conference room.

Bruce smiled slightly and stared out the large glass windows and down at the streets, where the people walking there looked like ants and the cars driving like toy cars. He was just about to turn around and leave, when he suddenly heard a loud boom sound like an explosion just went off. Shocked by this he lost his balance. He fell backwards, smashing the glass table with his elbow and sending glass shards everywhere as he fell to the floor, his eyes being closed.

When he opened his eyes he groaned loudly in pain as he sat up against the wall. Glaring down he only saw his left arm covered in a pool of blood. His teeth were gritted in pain, but desperate to know what was going on, he rose up to his feet. Outside he could hear people screaming and the sound of police sirens were closing in. Suddenly he realized that the worst screams were coming from the floors above him. Though the walls and floors in the conference rooms were supposed to be soundproofed, he could now hear loud and clear the sound of people running. And they were running fast.

Making his way across the room, trying to not step on any of the glass shards, he pulled the door open with his right arm, only to be met by even more people running. A young and red- haired woman was just about to pass him, when he suddenly grabbed her arm, pulling her close to him.

"Mr. Wayne!" the woman exclaimed in shock, clearly not happy for what he just did as she tried to get free from his grip.

"Calm down, Miss!" he ordered her and she quickly did as she was told. "What's going on up there?" he asked and looked up at the ceiling.

"There has been an explosion on floor 24!" she shouted hysterically. "I was just there and then I heard a loud sound and I just freaked out. I left as fast as I could!"

Bruce could hear the woman still babbling, but he had stopped listening when he first heard the word `explosion´. Someone had just attacked the building and the thought of who it might be frightened him terribly.

* * *

Some minutes before the explosion, Lori had been sitting on a bench outside in the public garden, waiting for Edward to show up. They have agreed on meeting each other here after work. As a light breeze tickled her cheek, Lori gazed down at her watch, seeing that it was the time Edward had told her he would go off from work. She breathed in relief, knowing that she did not have to wait any longer.

Smoothing out a wrinkle on her white dress shirt, she stood up from the bench and looked ahead to see Edward coming towards her. He was smiling and he held out his arms, ready to pull her into a hug. Lori smiled back and was just about to walk to him, when everything around her suddenly lost controlled and she plunged to the ground.

Lori blinked slowly as the world came back into focus. The winds still blew around her and her dark brown hair was lifting and falling. Her ears were ringing terribly, but she couldn't really hear anything. Lifting her head, Lori noticed with frustration that her vision was fuzzy as well. She rubbed her eyes forcefully and when she looked up again, Lori gasped.

The Wayne Tower, from around floor 23 and to the top, had exploded. Looking back down on the floor, she could see shards of glass laying everywhere and more was still pouring down, almost like heavy rain. Suddenly she remembered what she had been doing before the explosion. _Edward_, she screamed silently.

She quickly got on her feet and burst towards the entrance to Wayne Tower, where she had last seen Edward. Clouds of dust came in her way and she coughed violently. At last she got through them and now stood in front of the entrance door. Tears were swelling up in her eyes and Edward was nowhere to be seen.

She screamed as loudly as she could, shouting his name several times. No answer. He was not answering her. Angry and mad, she screamed again, but suddenly someone tugged her sleeve. Panicky she turned around, only to see the face she had been so worried about.

"Edward," she cried out and gave him a warm hug. "Are you alright? I shouted, but didn't answer and I…"

"I'm sorry, Lori. I think maybe I lost my consciousness for some moment, but I am here right now. Everything is fine, Lori." He was trying to make her feel safe and for some moments she was, too, until she remembered something else.

Her eyes widened deeply and she felt shaky. "He is in there," she whispered, her voice being so low that Edward almost didn't catch it.

"Who is in there?" Edward asked sternly.

Lori gave him a terrified look and pushed him away. "Bruce is…" she stuttered, pointing towards the entrance. "He is in there. I saw him coming and I haven't seen him leaving the building again. I have to go in there and see if he's alright."

"What? No Lori, you're staying here with me, damn it!" commanded Edward and pulled her back to him.

Lori let out a growl and pushed Edward back. "Let me go, I have to see if he's alright! Edward, don't you see? I love him!"

Edward felt like his world just dropped down a level. "You do?" he asked silently.

"Of course I do, he's my friend, in fact he's the best friend I have ever had," she replied, turning her back against Edward. "I have to see if he's alright."

Before Edward could protest once more, she swiftly opened the doors and sneaked inside, leaving him alone. Suddenly the sound of sirens caught his attention and he turned to see a group of police cars coming towards the building. Out of one of them, he recognized one of the men as Commissioner Jim Gordon. The Commissioner looked frustrated and so did the other policemen, too. A little chubby policeman was just about to unbuckle his seatbelt, when it suddenly sounded a deafening whoosh and the man, along with his car, went up in flames.

Instantly screams were coming from the people who had stood near the vehicle, the screams being so loud that Edward was forced to cover his ears. He looked forward and first then he noticed that the people were no longer staring at the burning vehicle. The whole crowd had turned their attention higher up and against Wayne Tower. Edward quickly realized why. Staring at what had caused the whoosh, their skin color changed drastically into a white and cold color. They looked ghastly.

Edward could no longer refrain, and so he also looked up. He knew he also was turning just as pale white as the others, just like the man who was looking down at them. The flames were burning around him, making him look even paler. His eyes were so intense. The red lipstick was forming a sinister smile before he burst out a shrill laugh, echoing through every corner of Gotham City.

* * *

**Please review! I can take critics!  
**


	22. Cat and Mouse

**AN:  
**Yes, finally! Here is the update. :) It's quite long, but I don't know how good it is, but I've already been writing the next chapter and that is much better, I promise!Please read and review. Thanks! ^^

* * *

**Chapter 22**

**

* * *

**

Lori coughed fiercely as she ran up another flight of stairs. She was in hurry as she ran because she had already wasted some minutes on waiting down at the elevators, only to find out they were out of order and she had to take the stairs. Outside she could hear the police sirens and the people screaming. She knew it was a mistake to come back, but she just had to. She had to find Bruce and see if he was okay.

Lori breathed heavily as she got to a higher floor. The long corridor was filled with dust and smoke. She could barely see through the thick smoke, though she was only on floor 4. Looking up she could see the smoke coming through the ventilation system and she put a hand on her face, covering her mouth and nose. Then she started on her long journey up the stairs.

After some minutes Lori had reached to floor 23. She was sweating and breathing heavily when she suddenly heard a loud female scream followed by a sickened thud and a hysterical laughter.

_That sounded like it came from the floor above, _Lori thought to herself.

Quickly she reached out for the handrail along the wall and pulled herself forward. Her feet were hurting, but she forced herself to continue. She hurried down the long corridor and towards the door where the staircase to the higher floor was. As she reached a higher level, she ran towards the door and practically ripped it opened to get into the long hallway.

Lori wanted to scream. The sight was horrid. People were lying unconscious in the corridor and some was bleeding. Looking to her right she was met with the sight of a young woman. She was slumped against the wall and a small blood strain ran down her face.

Lori was just about to check on the woman, when suddenly someone grabbed her from behind. Frightened she drove her elbow into the gut of the stranger in attempt to escape. She whirled around to face her attacker, but then everything changed and she wrapped her arms around the person. It was Bruce.

"Thanks," he said sarcastically. When Lori let go of him, he smiled warmly at her.

Lori also smiled until she suddenly noticed his bloody arm. Her eyes widened and she looked at him worriedly. "What happened to you?" she asked in a worried tone. She blinked, exchanging looks between Bruce and the arm.

Bruce looked quickly at it and then shrugged. "Nothing to worry about," he answered quickly. "Now," he continued, "what are you doing here? You shouldn't have co-"

"No," Lori interrupted. "Don't you ask me what I'm doing here and don't tell me to go back, because I have just climbed 24 staircases, I'm exhausted, my feet are killing me and I did all of this just because I care for you." She said the words rather fast and then breathed deeply.

Bruce chuckled. "Okay then, but I really think we should get out of here. I need," he said slowly, not quite finishing of the sentence. Then he paused. Suddenly another hysterical laughter was heard. Afraid, Lori looked at Bruce. She saw him blink a few times as if he was musing about something. "I need to," he repeated and then paused again. His eyes were on the thick smoke which was filling the corridor.

"What is it that you need to do?" Lori whispered, demanding to know.

Bruce just shrugged. "Nothing, nothing at all. We, uhm, should get out of here before something else happens." He quickly looked over his shoulder like he thought they were being watched. He then looked back at Lori and stared at her.

"What? Why do you look at me like that?" Lori hissed, frowning at him. He didn't answer, just continued staring for some minutes and then with made a motion with his head towards the door. "Yeah, you're right. We should go. This place and this horrible laughter freak me out," she said and walked towards Bruce and the door.

Lori had just passed through the door, when Bruce suddenly held her back. "I have to stay," he said in the calmest voice ever. "I own this company and it's my duty to make sure that everyone is all right. I can't let that psychopath kill anyone of my workers, which concludes you. So please leave now and I promise that I will be out in about ten minutes."

Lori wanted to retort, tell him that he could not go from her, but it was almost like she had lost her voice when he had used the word _psychopath_. Lori turned away from Bruce and looked back at the smoke and the fire. "Psychopath?" she whispered so quiet that there was almost no sound at all. "You don't mean the Joker? I thought he was in Arkham."

Bruce sighed. "I thought so, too. I just caught a glimpse of him when he attacked that helpless woman." Lori glanced at the woman she had intended to check on. "I can't let anyone else end up like her. I hoped you would understand."

Lori nodded slowly. "Uh-okay. But I won't leave. I'm staying somewhere here and hey, don't do that!" She said to Bruce as he rolled his eyes. "I can hide somewhere and then you can come back. I'm very good at this, playing hide and seek." She tried to smile, but Bruce was just as stiff as he used to be when there was something going on which he didn't like.

He groaned a few times and rubbed the back of neck. "All right! You can stay, but you have to stay hidden. I'm sure you can stay somewhere and being well hidden. It's just the seek-part I'm afraid of," he said, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't be. No one will find me," she assured her. She looked around herself and walked to one of the secretary's office. "Here."

She was just about to walk into the office when a loud sound almost destroyed her ears. The sound was followed by a loud boom, the whole room shook and all the glass walls shattered. The long corridor and the office were filled with even more gray smoke. Lori tried to open her eyes, but her head felt heavy. Glancing up she could see Bruce coming towards her, screaming, and then she slipped into unconsciousness.

* * *

"Lori! Wake up, Lori. Can you hear me?"

Getting no respond, Bruce checked her pulse. She was still breathing, but some of the glass shreds had cut her arms. He tore a piece of his shirt off and tied it around her arms. Carefully he then placed her under the desk and put some things over her to keep her hidden.

"I'll ground you if you lied about your hiding skills," he said and gave her a slight hug before leaving her.

He watched his steps warily and when he knew he was safe, he strolled hastily to his office, his personal office, and personal it was. He keyed the secret code and entered the room. When he got on the inside he walked straight over to his desk. Bruce pressed a button under the desk and a hidden room was revealed.

Bruce smiled. The contents of the hidden room were simple; a Batman armored suit and all his gadgets. And of course, his mask, lying on a shelf and staring down at him. He had thought a situation like this would happen and had asked Lucius to make him some kind of a reserve. He grabbed the suit and after a quick changing, he was ready. It was time. The time had come to put an end to it all. The Joker was no longer going to be able to drive this city as he wanted. He wanted to bring the Joker down again, and let the city know about his innocence, once and for all.

It didn't take long time before he saw two of Joker's henchmen, guarding what probably was the office where Joker was inside. Soundless, like a bat, he sneaked up to them. Attacking one of them from behind, the other one looked shockingly at what was going on. He was just about to shoot, when Batman hit him and threw him towards a glass wall. The glass shattered with a crash, the sound echoing around the corridor.

Batman turned around to see the other man still on his feet, shooting fiercely towards him. Batman weaved through the bullet and dodged them rather well, though he was been hit once. He got close to the man's face and kicked him in his stomach. The man fell backwards and didn't come up again.

Suddenly Batman was surrounded by other henchmen. One huge guy (really huge!), grabbed Batman roughly and lifted him up. Batman felt a slight panic as he saw the guy draw a clenched fist. He couldn't let himself be hit by this damaging attack and by instinct, he threw a smoke bomb in front of his face and it exploded. Gray fog filled the already smoke-filled area and the huge guy dropped him to the ground. Then Batman threw out his foot and made the guy trip over and crash over his partners.

One of the henchmen lost his gun and the gun fell to the ground and the trigger hit something which made it go off. The machine gun blew the bullets in a rapidly speed and Batman had to concentrate to not get hit by them.

Jumping forward he got the gun and stopped it from shooting. Breathing heavily, sweat running down his hidden face, he walked to the large door which the henchmen had been guarding. Slowly and as silent as he could he opened the door and peeked inside. The room was darkened and the curtains were undrawn. Step by step he walked farther into the room. Without thinking about it he let go of the door. The door closed behind him with a click and suddenly the light went on. Batman thought he was going to scream.

The whole room was filled with explosives and there was timer on, set to go off in five minutes. Swirling around, he ran towards the door, but it was closed. Batman was trapped.

* * *

This was Joker's plan. He knew he would come and had set up this trap for him. And just as the mouse, he followed the cheese or the bait and went right into his trap. Why hadn't he thought about this before? No, because the Joker was not a guy with a plan. He only did things. Still he had been blind. Batman was just about to slam the wall, when suddenly a voice spoke, or practically, it just laughed.

"HAHA, Batsy-watsy has fallen into my trap! You made this sooo easy for me!" Joker laughed maniacally through the speaker.

"Joker, I promise you! You won't get away with this!" Batman growled, trying to threaten the Joker.

"HAHA! No, you see, I already have won! You're trapped, Batsyman. The door is closed and the windows are sealed! I _won_!" the Joker howled and laughed.

Batman rolled his eyes and groaned. "So all this, all this killing… It's just a game for you?"

"Of course it is. I have already told you I needed the first prize and here you are. My shiny trophy, or maybe not shiny, just rusty! HAHA!" Joker burst out in laughter. "Too bad it had to end her, I have had so much fun! But wait! I can still have fun. There are still some innocent citizens of Gotham here I can play with. Who doesn't enjoy a good game? Especially one I like to call 'Cat and mouse'."

The speaker went quiet, but then there was a sound and his voice was back. "Oh, I forgot to say goodbye! Have a nice day, Batsy! I hope you will enjoy your time there. I set this place so it would match you and your style. Remember? I know all about you and your explosive anger! HAHahHaha!"

Then the Joker disappeared and the room was filled with an awful silence. The only noise which was heard was the ticking as the timer started to count down to zero.

**

* * *

**

**Please review!  
**


	23. The Show Must Go On

**AN:**  
Yeah, I know the beginning is weird, but I'm not actually a person who write about bomb situations that often, so.. Hope you'll like it anyway. **:)**

* * *

**Chapter 23**

**

* * *

**

Batman breathed heavily, feeling that his heart begin to speed up double time. Desperately he turned to the bomb and knelt down in front of it. He had never diffused a bomb before and did not know if he could do it. But he knew he had to do something. He could not let the bomb go off because that would destroy everything. There were still people inside the building and considering all the explosives, there would be not so much left.

He knew that a feeling he hated the most would soon be washed over him and hit him hard. It wasn't so many times he had felt it and because of the situation he was caught in right now, he could only think of one time; Rachel's kidnapping and death.

He hated it, but he had to admit it. _He was afraid_.

But what was it really that he was afraid of? Dying? No, he knew he wasn't afraid of dying. What he was afraid of what the feeling of losing someone close to him, like what had happened to Rachel. He would never forgive himself for losing her and he would not allow it to happen again.

Suddenly there was a beep from the timer and he was brought back to reality. The beep had indicated that there was only half the time left. What was he going to do now? There was no one that could help him. Not Lori, Gordon, Lucius, Alfred… Alfred!

Batman didn't waste any seconds. He pressed a button on his mask and established his link with his faithful butler, trying to make contact with him. He waited for which felt like several minutes, though barely some seconds, before Alfred answered.

"Alfred, I need your help!" Batman almost shouted. After explaining the situation, Alfred told him to switch on the lenses in his cowl to transmit, making Alfred able to watch what Bruce was looking at on the monitor.

"And you really believed that I would know how to diffuse that?" Alfred said. Batman heard a strange sound before Alfred spoke again. "But I think I know someone who does. I've just transferred your signal to Mr. Fox. I've explained it for him."

"Thank you, Alfred! Lucius, are you there?" Batman shouted. "I need some help, quick!"

"This is beyond anything I've ever seen," Lucius told him.

"That doesn't really help me!" Batman responded. He stole a glance at the timer. Only one minute left. He then turned his attention to the mess of wires. "Lucius, this is soon going to get cruel if you don't find out what to do. Which wire?" he said in almost panic.

"I believe it is the green wire," Lucius told him.

"You believe it is? Well, I trust you," Batman told him. Feeling his hands shake in fear and panic, he cut the wire.

No bomb exploded. He, with good help from his friends, had cut the correct wire and saved his life. Sweat was running down his face and he was very warm. He tried to make contact with Alfred and Lucius again, but they were not there. He rose up on his feet and turned to the door. The door was still a minor problem since it was closed, but he busted it open, looking cautiously behind it. Luckily there was no one there.

Stepping out in the corridor he tried to hear if there was any sound or see if there was any sign of the Joker. But there was nothing. The Joker was gone, or at least he thought so.

* * *

Lori slowly opened her eyes and looked around the fuzzy room. The room was darkened and glancing up, she could see that the lights were out. Where was she? She tried to sit, but when pushing herself up with her hands, she felt a burning pain in her arms. She looked down, seeing that there was blood on her hands and she could feel it trickle down her arms. Lori pulled up her sleeves and sure enough her arms were cut, but the bleeding was not so bad. Someone had tied clothing around where she was cut. She was sure that it was Bruce and then noticed that he was not there. Where could he be?

Lori closed her eyes. Being left alone wasn't something she liked when she knew that the Joker was there. And _he is supposed to be my guardian_, she said to herself, sort of complaining, and snorted. But she knew this would not help. Suddenly she heard sounds reminding her of footsteps and she sat warily on floor, believing it was Bruce who had come back for her. But no one came and the sounds disappeared.

Lori figured out that she had to wait and see if he came back. She sat there for several minutes, but there was no Bruce. Fear started to rise greatly inside her and she let out a frightened whimper. Groaning she found her courage and crawled silently towards the doorway. The hallway was dark and she hesitated. She wanted to go back to where she had been, where it was safe. Still she wanted to know what was going on. And so the girl carefully peeked out to see if she could see anyone. And as she had expected there was no one to see, not even a sound was able to be heard. She realized what situation she was in and she bit her lip in nervousness.

Lori took a step out from the room to get a better look. "Hello?" she barely whined.

Suddenly she heard footsteps again and she shivered. Turning around, she could see there was light coming from the corridor to the right and she found out that was where the footsteps was coming from. Silently she started to walk down the hallway and a somewhat smile crossed her face. She had a feeling that it was Bruce.

As Lori turned around the corner she, unfortunately, faced the horrifying truth. Down the hallway two men was lying lifeless on the floor. She squeaked as she noticed one of them as the security guard, William Gibson, she had met earlier this day. His face was turned against her and there was plastered a red and horrid smile on it.

Lori wanted to scream, but she didn't. Instead of looking at the two bodies, her eyes shifted to something else, someone else. At the end of the corridor, there stood the Joker. His face wore a blank expression as he stared right back at her. Two of his masked henchmen were standing beside him, holding two crates with unknown contents.

For some moments the Joker looked very confused. He blinked and looked to his right, then to his left, before glancing back at Lori. "What a lovely surprise," the Joker said, chuckling to his henchmen. Every cell in Lori's body trembled as he pointed a finger at her. For some reason she hesitated, but then she reacted. As fast as she could, she whirled around and ran back the hallway she had come from. The Joker didn't move, but smiled a menacing grin to his henchmen. "The show must go on and I believe we now have a special guest."

Lori reached back to the dark hallway. She was afraid. Why had the Joker looked at her that way? Still there was a feeling of that she had seen him somewhere before, but not as the Joker. She shook the thought away and ran back and into the closest room. She closed the door softly behind herself and frighteningly she crawled under the desk. Never before had she wanted so much that the Batman would come and save the day. She wanted him to come and save her. That was all she could hope for, but her hope soon died off and she gasped as she heard the door getting kicked open.

Lori tried to make herself as small as possible as the Joker stepped into the room. She could see his feet coming towards the desk and she had to bite her lips to not scream.

"Come out, come out wherever you are," he chuckled softly. "I know you are in here and you can't escape." Lori quivered violently and she was afraid the desk was shaking as well. She could hear the Joker as he warily scanned the room.

After some minutes the Joker was tired of this and sighed. "Well, well. Even I can't play this cat and mouse game forever. And oh, the Batman should now be in pieces." Lori put a hand to her face and covered her mouth. It wasn't until the Joker had shuffled over the floor and went out the door that she let out a silent gasp. What did he mean when he had said that Batman was in pieces? She was glad that Batman was here, but this did not sound like any good news.

_Should I go and see if I could find Batman? Or should I wait here for Bruce to come back? Bruce! _

Lori suddenly realized something and she could now see it very clear. It was after Bruce had left her that Batman had come. And Bruce had not come back yet, but Batman was still here. Could it be? No, that would just be silly. Lori still could not deny it. Everything that had happened, before and to now, all fitted together and everything lead to the same answer.

_Bruce was Batman, Batman was Bruce._

Lori blinked a few times and she thought she was going to lose her breath at the thought. Was Bruce, Gotham's famous billionaire playboy, the Batman? Lori now realized how ridiculous the idea was and she felt like an idiot. No wait, she was an idiot. Bruce, the man partying all the time, was Gotham's hero, her hero? Or maybe this party man was just a facade so that people would not find out about his secret. Lori felt numb. How well did she really know Bruce? Maybe she didn't know anything about him, only the lies.

Lori had almost forgotten about the Joker as she stood up and reached out for the doorknob. She let out a relieving breath as the door opened with a click, so silent that hopefully no one would hear it. She carefully glanced out the door to see if there was anyone nearby, but she couldn't see anyone, so she stepped out.

She had only walked a few steps before someone grabbed her hair from behind and viciously pulled her backwards. She tried to scream, but she only managed to let out a screech.

"I knew you would come out sooner or later," the Joker said joyfully.

In panic Lori used her feet to kick him. Most likely because of the shock of her attack, the Joker let her go. Lori raced down and tried to open one of the doors nearby, but it was locked. She didn't know what to do and before she managed to do anything he caught her, flipping her around so she was pressed against the wall, her eyes being closed. She opened her eyes and she let out a cry as her eyes captured the form of Joker's red lips.

"Impressive. You're a tough little girl," he smiled. He grabbed her jaw, forcing her to look at him. And so she looked at his makeup and he stared into her tearfully eyes.

Lori froze completely as he quickly drew out something from his shirt and placed a cold blade against the side of her mouth. She was deathly afraid. The Joker suddenly smiled, licked his lips and stared down at the knife. She could see that he wanted to do it, to plunge the cold knife into her skin. She closed her eyes and waited.

But nothing happened. She didn't feel the pain she was expecting. Trembling terribly, she slowly opened her eyes. The Joker was standing still, exchanging glares between her and the knife. He pulled the knife to himself, twisting it around as if he was playing with it. Then he placed it back against Lori's mouth. For which felt like several minutes he just stood there, scanning Lori up and down. Suddenly the Joker chuckled.

"You're thinking I'm going to kill you, huh?" he asked and laughed. "Are he going to do it or not? Should I or should I not?" He held the knife tighter against her mouth. Suddenly he stopped, scanning her again, before he spoke. "You know, you look familiar. Have I threatened you before? No wait, have I killed you before?" He burst out in laughter. "Well, come on. Answer my question."

Lori was too afraid to look at him, so he made her look. She was shaking, so terribly, and she couldn't let out a word. She only managed to shake her head briefly.

"No?" the Joker said, sounding like if he was disappointed. "Well, then I don't see any point with letting you stay alive."

Lori imagined it all. She could already see the knife being stabbed into her chest and the red lips on her mouth. She also thought she could smell blood as he pushed the knife against the side of her mouth.

"But I don't have to do it now. I still need a way out of this building and you as my hostage should do for now." Lori yelped out in fright as he grabbed her scarred arm. Smiling he squeezed it tightly, bringing her pain.

"No!" Lori screamed out in pain. In a desperate attempt to get rid of this pain, she threw herself forward and down to the ground. The Joker got shocked and his eyes widened as he both lost his grip around her arm and his balance, making him fall backwards. Seeing this was her chance to escape, she quickly got on her feet and ran down the hallway. She wanted to get away. Lori continued running until she suddenly got her eyes on the two of Joker's henchmen coming around the corner and stopping in front of her. Lori quickly stopped running which made her fall down on her knees. She could hear her heart speed up and she was starting to panic.

Lori's panic soon disappeared as she saw why the henchmen had been running towards her. The Batman was chasing them and as he rounded the corner, he stood behind the two men. Lori exchanged looks between Batman and the henchmen. Suddenly she heard a sound and she jumped as she saw that the Joker was coming towards them, slowly though. One part of him seemed shocked and the other part seemed satisfied, but his eyes were burning as he discovered the Batman.

"You!" The Joker moaned sarcastically. "Who glued you back together? Ahh, doesn't matter. But the one who did it did a terrible job. You're still messed up!" The Joker laughed at his joke. "And you always have to ruin a good game. Can't you just follow rules which say that there are no rules, hm? You see, that's the way I play and I was just going to show my little friend here." He smiled to Lori and the girl let out a whimper.

"You're not going to kidnap anyone anymore! This ends now!" the Batman growled angrily to the Joker. "You're going to Arkham, Joker, back to where you belong!"

The Joker smirked. "No no, Batsy. There is still a show and well… On with the show you know," he said lightly. "You two! Finish off Batsyman now," he ordered his two henchmen and pointed a finger at Batman. The two henchmen whirled around, but Batman jumped as they threw their fists into the floor.

* * *

**Please review. :)  
~Anette  
**


	24. The Complicated Truth

**AN:**  
I don't really like this chapter, but I'm gonna post it anyway. It's been a while since the last time I updated my fanfic and I'm sorry to disappoint you with this not-so-very-good chapter. LOL.

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 24**

**

* * *

**

The Batman tried to back away and dodge the attacks from the two men, but it was difficult.

"No, Batman! Wait!" Lori called after him and started to run after them. She had only taken a few steps as the Joker, grabbing her by her hair, pulled her into his arms.

The Joker pulled out his knife again. "And where do you think you're going, huh?" he snickered to her. Lori tried to loosen his grip, but it wouldn't let go. "Shhh," he calmed and rubbed his hand along her cheek. She couldn't stand him and she hated him. Realizing she wouldn't manage to escape this time, Lori stopped moving, her head down causing her hair to fall into her face. She was crying, silently though, but the Joker noticed.

"Don't cry now," he ordered. "Wait until we're outside. That will be more dramatic!"

Lori stole a glance towards the direction where Batman and the fight were. She could hear Batman struggling with the henchmen, and she jumped each time she heard a punch. The Joker grinned maliciously as he noticed that the girl was shaking viciously in fear, and he laid an arm around her shoulders.

"Well, we have to go now sweetheart," the Joker chuckled and against Lori's will, he dragged her with him, down the corridor and away from the fight. "We gotta leave before Batsy comes and crashes my party again. You see, he isn't on the guest list."

"And I'm not either!" Lori screeched to the Joker. She was not a strong girl, but going with the Joker without a fight would have been disgraceful. She tried to reach out to everything that she could hold onto as the Joker kept pulling her with him towards the door.

"Let go off me!" screamed Lori and began kicking the Joker. Irritated by this, the Joker grabbed her by her feet and threw her on his back so that he was carrying her.

"No! Put me down!" Lori was yelling and she was so angry. Gazing up, she, without thinking, grabbed his grimy green hair and pulled it.

"Ouch!" Her actions had surprised the Joker and in irritation he slung her away. The girl flew backwards and against the wall, hitting it with a loudly thud. She felt blood on the back of her head and gazing up she saw the Joker standing over her.

"Okay, that's it! I've had enough of your pranks!" The Joker howled. Bending down on his knees he grabbed her face. "You know, I have changed my mind. You've been wiped off my guest list and I don't need you anymore."

She heard a slight click as he flicked his knife open and saw the shine of her own reflection for a second. She could barely keep her eyes open as he leant towards her face with his wicked blade so close to her eyes.

"Let me tell you something," he said. "This knife… Every night before I go to bed I sharpen it and I also do it when I wake up again. So there isn't any problem for this knife to slice through your nice, soft skin. Do you understand?"

Lori's eyelids fluttered at him. "Why are you telling me this?" she whispered, frightfully.

The Joker acted like he didn't noticed her question, only repeated his own. "Do you understand?"

Lori nodded. She started to cry again. The tears welled up in her eyes and she couldn't fight them back. Tears fell from her eyes and ran down her cheek. In the corner of her eye she saw the blade draw closer and she closed her eyes. She could not look.

Lori felt the knife against her throat, but suddenly it moved away. She was afraid, but also curious about what had made the Joker pull away the knife. First she opened her left eye, but she had to have both her eyes open to see if what she was seeing was true.

Not so long away from where they were, there was the Batman. He looked horrified to see what was happening, but he didn't have time to stop it. One of the henchmen suddenly grabbed him roughly from behind and tried a weakened attempt on strangling him. Batman grabbed the henchmen with his hands and threw him around, making him crash and land on the ground.

The other henchman was there in a second and drew a clenched fist towards Batman. Batman ducked and returned the attack with a punch of his own. The man fell backwards and landed over his partner. Batman grunted and then turned back to the Joker and Lori.

"Joker," Batman growled angrily. "Let the girl go now!"

The Joker laughed. "I don't think so." He looked at Batman, then at Lori, cackling. She shivered as he grinned at her and then it all happened so fast.

The blade was just about to slam into her flesh, when suddenly Batman roughly pushed the Joker away from her, but she already felt it. She screamed. Her eyes and mouth were open, and she did not breathe. Staring down she could see the knife stabbed into her body. She screamed again, in agonizing pain.

Batman was holding the Joker with his hands, looking disgusted at him. Suddenly the doors busted open and the Joker grinned. Several groups of his henchmen came running through them, all carrying weapons.

"Get Batsy, but don't shoot me!" The Joker howled and waved with his arms.

All the groups followed his order and came towards the Batman, their fists raised, ready to take a damaging attack. Batman had no other choice than letting go of the Joker.

Batman quickly jumped aside as the henchmen opened fire. Seeing that he could not run through the bullet fire, he grabbed a gadget from his belt and threw it towards the henchmen, releasing the smoke inside it. The whole place where the henchmen where was covered in smoke and the Batman could hear them cough.

Realizing this was his chance he ran as fast as he could towards them and started fighting off the henchmen as the Joker watched. Soon all the henchmen were down and Batman was now standing face to face with the Joker.

The Joker chuckled. "Now there's only you and me. So what are you gonna do, Batsyman?" he said quickly.

"I'm going to take you back to Arkham where there is a nice cell waiting for you," Batman said angrily. "You're a sick freak."

The Joker burst out in laughter. "Oh my! Haven't you learned anything about me?" he cackled. "I'm not a freak, _never_ a freak. Maybe insane… Yes, insane is the word."

The Batman stared. "All these things you have done… Don't you even care… about justice?"

The Joker threw his head back, his bright yellow teeth showing and he laughed at Batman's strong words. He could see that his laughter made the bat angry and he laughed even more.

"Oh _God_, that, that was the funniest thing I've _ever_ heard!" He coughed softly and was going to reply when a weak voice suddenly called.

"_Batman!" _

Batman turned slightly as he heard Lori call to him.

"_Batman! Please, help me. It hurts!"_

Batman turned back to the Joker and the Joker smiled with pleasure. They both knew what was happening. Batman had to make a choice. He could either catch the clown and arrest him and his men, but this could put Lori's life in danger; or Batman could help Lori, but doing that the Joker would get away.

The Joker grinned. "So I repeat; what you're gonna do now, Batsywatsy?"

Batman just stared at the Joker and the Clown Prince did the same, while Lori's cries for help continued. Batman knew one thing. He could not lose Lori because she was his friend and when he could no longer stand her cries, Batman had no other choice than turning his heel and come to her rescue.

The Joker's lips formed a wry smile and he took off in the opposite direction, running down the hallways and letting a demented laughter escape from his mouth.

When the Batman got to where Lori was lying, there was so much blood around her and Lori was still letting out cries though he was there. He saw the wound where the Joker's knife had stabbed her.

"Please…" Lori's whisper was so low, almost muted. "Please, make it stop hurting."

Batman bent down and put a hand on the wound, trying to lessen the blood flow. "I will, Lori. I will." He realized he hadn't used his Batman-voice when talking to her, but she had already fallen into unconsciousness.

**

* * *

**

Lori slowly opened her eyes and looked around the fuzzy room. Reds, creams and golds. Wayne Manor. She was in her bed in her room at Wayne Manor. She felt miserable and she tried to force her mind to remember what had happened. She tried to sit up, but a sudden sharp pain on her side, instantly brought back the previous… day? Or was it hours? She didn't know. All she knew was that her pains brought back Joker's sick laughter and all the horror. She lay back slowly, biting her lip to keep from crying out. Her head was pounding and it was like she still could hear the bombs going off.

Checking herself carefully she noticed the neat bandages around the lower part of her stomach. She sighed and smacked the side of her head with her palm. "Gahh, I can still hear it," she said and in irritation she threw the pillow away. Still the words echoed in her head. The Joker… Bombs…Knives… Where was Bruce?

Lori turned her head and could just make out his blurred form sitting in the chair next to her bed. He had dozed off and was now sleeping with his mouth open. Lori resisted the urge to laugh, but she smiled. She got surprised when something orange flashed in front of her. She gazed up to see Alfred stand on her other side.

"You might need this," Alfred said as he gave her the orange drink.

She hesitantly took it. "Thanks," she said, placing the glass to her lips and tipping it into her mouth. Once it all was swallowed she coughed heavily from the bitterness. "It tastes terrible."

"I know it does," he said apologetically. "The price of good health, I'm afraid. Feel better?" he asked as he sat down.

She nodded. "What happened? How did I–"

"All in good time," Alfred interrupted. "Are you hungry? I've made you some breakfast."

Lori nodded. "Thank you," she answered gratefully.

"You're welcome. As I have told you before, I love to be of service," he said with a kind smile. "I'll be back in some minutes with the breakfast tray." He was just about to leave when he suddenly placed a bell on her nightstand. "Should you need anything further, please don't hesitate to ring."

"Uh-okay, thanks," she said quietly, her eyes on the bell. She watched as Alfred left the room and closed the door behind him, leaving her alone together with the sleeping, and now snoring, Bruce Wayne.

Lori grinned at this. _Maybe that's the reason why he's not dating anyone_, she thought. _Bruce Wayne – handsome at day and a nightmare at night. _She put a hand to her mouth to muffle her giggles, but then stopped thinking of how wrong the last part sounded like. She sighed and lay back slowly, letting a yawn escape from her mouth.

Out of the corner of her eye, she suddenly noticed Bruce move. He yawned and after stretching slightly, he sat up straighter in his chair. He let out a sigh of relief as he saw that she was awake and smiled at Lori. "Hi Lori. How are you feeling?"

In truth, Lori felt awful. Her whole body felt too weak to even do anything. "Fine," she answered.

Bruce smirked at her. "Right. I'm sure you're feeling just great."

Lori couldn't help the reluctant grin that spread over her face. "Yeah, I guess you're right. I suppose I've been better."

Bruce smiled, nodded. "You lost a lot of blood. It will take some time to recover so I suggest you to stay in bed."

She nodded. "I understand that. Um… how long have I been lying here?"

"Only for one day, but I was really scared. I thought I had lost you, girl." It looked like he was tearing up a bit and he rubbed his eyes. She frowned. She hadn't thought that Bruce really cared _so_ much about her, that she was something to cry for.

Suddenly a thought occurred to her. "It was the Joker, he did this to me," Lori said silently. "But Batman was there. He… he saved me, Bruce. The Batman–"

"Lori," Bruce interrupted, holding up a hand. "I promised you once that there would be no more lies between us and that's a promise I want to keep. So I need to tell you something." He sighed heavily and sat back down in the chair. He opened his mouth to say something, but Lori was quicker than him.

"You're the Batman," Lori said, her voice flat.

"Yes, I am," Bruce replied, his eyes cold. He stood up from the chair and walked over to the windows, staring at the scenery.

Lori watched him from where she was lying, curled up under her blankets.

"When and how did you find out?" he asked.

"The day at the Wayne Enterprises, after the Joker had attacked the building and you had left me alone," she told him. "If you first think of it, it is quite obvious, but no one would ever believe such things about you. You're just a famous person with a bunch of money in your pocket, spending your time partying with other celebrities and dating supermodels." Lori smiled. "Anyway, I suppose I owe you a 'thanks' for saving my life, um, what now is two times."

Bruce grinned and turned around, facing Lori. "I'm just glad you're alive and I'm so sorry about it all. I should have known about the Joker's escape from Arkham and have stopped him from doing anything. But I failed and I'm sorry for what he did to you."He grabbed the chair and pulled it closer to the bed, before he sat down again. He took her hand in his and gave it a squeeze.

"Bruce…" she started, hesitantly. "Whatever you're blaming yourself for, please stop doing it. You didn't do anything wrong. You could never have foreseen what the Joker was planning, I mean… You aren't God, no matter how hard you try to be, you can't stop everything from happening. And I don't hold you responsible for what happened."

Bruce sighed heavily. "Are you sure?"

"Yes," Lori replied with a firm nod. "That's the one thing I am certain of, so stop holding on to all that guilt. Batman has not done anything wrong, okay?"

"Okay. And about that," he said. "I think we should talk now that things have changed."

Lori nodded. "Agreed. Please talk."

**

* * *

**

"Thanks for the delicious breakfast, Alfred," Lori said and looked up into Alfred's kind eyes.

After Bruce and Lori had spent some time talking, the door had opened and Alfred had stuck his head out, carrying a breakfast tray. He had made them pancakes. The tray was now placed across Lori's lap with only a dirty plate and glass left.

"Anytime, my dear," Alfred smiled and nodded.

"Alfred is a wonderful cook and his pancakes are the best," Bruce said, scoffing down a pile of pancakes with a lot of syrup. "You've got to love them."

Alfred smirked at Bruce. "Thank you, sir," he said, collecting the tray and Bruce's now empty plate. "If you'll need, I'll be downstairs," he said and exited the room.

Lori sighed and gazed at Bruce. He noticed it. "What's wrong?" Bruce asked.

She shook her head. "Nothing, I'm just… I'm trying to figure you out. You told me about your parents, that you saw them getting killed. You told me that you had never gotten over the pain of their loss, nor over your desire for revenge against the people who you blame for their deaths." She sighed once more. "Still, I don't understand the reason why you're doing this."

Bruce flashed his friend a rare smile. "Let us just say that I'm doing Gotham a favor, Lori. I'm fumigating this city from the vermin that have long infested it. Without Batman this city would have ripped itself apart."

"The city has already started ripping. It's hard to avoid noticing it, when criminals like the Joker is running loose in the streets," Lori said and coughed. "And it doesn't help so much when the police believe you are just like them. I'm sure you didn't kill them, but why did you say it was?"

"Because what this city needed the most was good men, someone to show that there still was hope. Harvey was one of those men and I couldn't let the people of Gotham loose all they had believed in," Bruce said slowly. He leaned forward in his chair, his hands clasped between his legs. "When it comes to the Joker, everything to him is just a game and if I had let Harvey take the downfall, the Joker would have won everything."

Lori nodded slowly. "I understand it now," she said and she smiled slightly. "You have a big heart, Bruce, and you truly know how to show it. What you did for Harvey was a rare act of kindness. It takes a lot from a person to put other people before yourself," she said in a low voice.

"Yeah, but it also takes a lot to not do anything when you know deep inside that you should have," he said back in the same low voice. "I assume that's why you have to be careful about who you decide to do that favor for. I chose Harvey."

"But at what cost? The Joker escaped again and he has already begun spreading out his terror, starting with your company. You know he won't stop until he has won." Lori gritted her teeth together and looked away. "I discovered the ugly side of this world when I was young, just like you did. I don't want to see more people die."

"I don't want that either," Bruce said with sympathy. "Therefore I have to stop the Joker as soon as possible."

Lori gazed up at him. "You had the chance at the tower, but instead you rescued me. In my opinion, I think you should have chased after him. I was just one life. If you had captured the Joker maybe thousands of life would have been saved."

"I couldn't let you die. You're my friend, Lori, and I don't want to lose another person close to me," Bruce said. He sat back, his eyes seeming both serious and worried. "My circumstances have now changed and things are a bit more complicated. Now I both have to capture the Joker and keep you safe at the same time."

"Hey, hey, hey!" Lori suddenly interrupted with a raised hand. "I'm not a child and I don't need your protection."

Bruce grinned. "Really? You already have almost been killed two times and you're still saying that you don't need any protection. Am I right?"

Lori gave him a meek grin. "Okay, so I'm a not-so-very-strong-girl who frequently seems to have bad luck , but the last thing I want is you following me everywhere I go, especially not when you're wearing a mask."

Bruce smiled slightly and said, "That wasn't exactly what I had in mind. What I meant was that as long as the Joker is out there somewhere, I want you to stay hidden."

Lori shook her head. "You worry too much, Bruce. And why would the Joker come after me anyway? I don't mean anything to him."

"Yeah, I suppose you're right," Bruce said and stood up from the chair. "You may not mean anything to the Joker, but for now you mean everything to me."


	25. Hopes and Fears

**Author's Note:**  
ARHHH, how long has it been since the last time I updated?? I know that I have probably let many of my readers down, and when I first post the new chapter it is most likely no good. **:( **But at least here it is and I promise that it won't be so long time till the next one and it will be much better. Meanwhile you can read it and then say what you think of it.

Have a nice time reading. **:)**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Batman Begins/The Dark Knight because then I would have to be God!**

* * *

**Chapter 25**

**

* * *

**

For as long as she could remember, reading had always been Lori's passion. She loved books and everything about them excited her. Though she never had been anywhere outside Gotham, she felt like she had travelled the world. Just reading books was an adventure and when she did she would never feel alone. Every book would love her when she opened them. That was what she loved about them. They were unprejudiced.

As Bruce had told her to do, Lori had stayed in bed, but after just lying in bed there for some time she had got bored. Though Alfred had insisted her to stay where she was, he, however, had assisted her downstairs.

She glanced at her surroundings from where she sat, curled up on a comfortable leather arm chair in the library. The room was large yet cozy and the walls were painted creamy white. Lori noticed that this room was the only one where the floor was a carpet. The carpet was a dark blue. Floor to ceiling built in bookshelves lined one wall. Hardback and paperback books filled every inch of the oak shelves. To her right was a window that looked out over the great garden, and in front of her there was a small table. Since she couldn't walk that good, Alfred had gathered some books he suggested would be enjoyable for her and placed them on the table.

Lori leaned a bit forward to take a closer look at them. Just then the door opened and Alfred, wearing a black blazer with a white shirt inside and his black dress pants, stepped into the room.

Alfred stood next to one of the bookshelves, gazing at the teenager. "There is someone here to see you, Lori," said the butler. "I don't know who he is, but he is asking to visit you. He's a very fine young man, I must say."

"Let him in please."

"Yes, Miss Lori." Alfred did an elegant movement, almost like a bow, and made his way out. Lori rolled her eyes; she couldn't stand him calling her 'Miss' all the time.

"Lori!" The familiar voice came from the door, and Edward ran towards her with his arms out. Wrapping his arms around her, he gave her a massive hug. "Hi," he said simply as he let her go.

Lori didn't say anything in response, just stared at him for a long while.

"What's the matter? You look like you're frozen like a statue." Edward chuckled at her. He brushed his hand over her right cheek. "You don't seem happy to see me," he whispered, turning.

"No I am," Lori said quickly, coughing slightly. "I just didn't expect to see you, uhm… here."

Edward turned back to face her with a sheepish grin. "How could you ever think such things about me? Lori, I'm your friend and I was worried. I heard about what happened to you yesterday. The Joker and all of it… must have been so awful for you."

Edward paused and walked around the chair she was seated in till he came to the couch where he sat down. "So as your friend I just wanted to check up on you. " Lori sat there, waiting for Edward to continue. "To see if you were ok."

Lori raised a smile at his thoughtfulness. They were interrupted as there was a light knock on the door again.

"I apologize for interrupting," Alfred said as he opened the door.

"No, it is just alright," Lori replied.

The elderly man smiled slightly. "Miss Lori, I was just wondering if you and your friend would like anything to drink or to eat, perhaps. If you ask me, I would say that this would be the perfect time to eat lunch."

Lori glanced towards the clock, one o'clock in the morning and indeed time for lunch, but she wasn't that hungry. She peaked at Edward who noticed it and gave her a swift wink as his response. "I'm sorry Alfred, but we're not that hungry at this moment. Perhaps later?"

Alfred nodded, his face wore an expression as if he was discouraged about that she wanted to skip lunch, unknowing that he wore this expression much more often than she was aware of. "As you wish, Miss Lori," he said calmly and exited the room, closing the door behind himself.

Lori moaned and rolled her eyes at Alfred still calling her 'Miss'. She hated it. She sighed and looked back at Edward, putting on a smile. "Now, where were we before the interruption?" she asked him.

"Nothing special, I was just telling you how much I care for you," Edward said, grinning at her.

"I think it's special," Lori said and she knew she was blushing. "You're a good friend, Edward, and it's nice to have you around and have someone to talk to."

Edward's eyes snapped up to meet Lori's and he ___suddenly beamed_ at Lori as his hand reached out and took hers. "My feelings are mutual," he said. He then let her go of her hands and leaned back on the couch.

"You know," Lori began, her eyes meeting his again, "we should hang out sometime, to catch up some things. I mean, like when we were kids – we used to be together almost all the time then."

"I agree on that," Edward said smiling and gave her hand a squeeze. "Just like the old days before, but if it's okay with you, I hope we can switch the mudpies with a nice dinner instead."

Lori let out a laugh and smiled. "I think we both can agree on that one. And if I remember correctly, I think I owe you a lunch." Lori paused for a moment and sighed. "I'm really sorry that I just left you there, but I hope you understand my reason for doing it, even though I now know that it was quite stupid of me."

"Of course I understand why you did it and don't feel sorry about it," he said, his face turning soft as he sat back. "I mean - Bruce is your friend and you wanted to ensure that he was okay. There was nothing wrong with what you did and I would say it was just a part of a good friendship. That's what friends do, I mean, looking out for each other, right?"

"I guess you're right. Good friends look out for each other," she said with a smile. "And that's exactly what we all should do, especially when there are times like these."

Edward tilted his head to one side, seeming confused. "What do you mean with 'times like these'?" he asked.

Lori looked Edward in the eye. "Oh come on, you can't say that you haven't noticed?" Her eyes narrowed and she looked incredibly serious.

"Noticed what?" Edward was confused.

Lori rolled her eyes. "For your information – we live in a hellhole! Everyday innocent people are getting killed and the police don't know what to do because they don't know who the new mob leader is. Every second we are being torn apart and now that the Joker is on loose, don't really give us much hope for surviving."

Edward stiffened at these words and his eyes had grown bigger, but he remained silent for a while. She could see that he wanted to say something. Edward opened his mouth, and then closed it as if he couldn't find the words.

"Do you have hope?" he asked her after a while.

Lori smiled slightly, and she noticed that she was now the one with problems finding the words to speak. "Sometimes I like to believe I have it," she answered, her voice barely above a whisper. "I don't know why, but it feels good to have something to hold on to."

Edward snickered. "You're lucky who have it and you make it sound so easy. But as easy as it sounds, not everyone are able to find it. I know that because I haven't." Looking up his eyes met hers and he reached out his hand and touched her face. "Or maybe I have," he whispered gently, stroking her soft skin.

Lori felt warmth in her cheeks and she looked down in embarrassment knowing that she was blushing. Edward tilted her head up again with his fingertips and looking into her eyes, he leaned forward.

His lips had barely touched hers when the door opened, pouring light on them. Edward jumped away from Lori and turned to face whoever had opened the door. Standing in the doorway was Bruce. He was silent, exchanging glances between Lori and Edward. He cleared his throat before he spoke.

"Alfred didn't mention anything about your visitor," he said looking at Lori. "I'm sorry for interrupting your little '_moment_'." His tone was sarcastic, Lori could tell that. He walked up to them and smiled cheerfully at Edward.

"Mind if I sit down?"

Edward smiled back in polite and nodded as Bruce sat down at the nearest spot. "Sure, I was just about leaving anyway."

"Oh, but why?" Lori stood up immediately, but then sat back down as she felt the pain coming. "Where are you going?" she asked.

"Nowhere special, it's just…" he trailed off, shaking his head. "I have some things to do."

"What kinds of things?" Her face was serious and her dark brown eyes bored holes into Edward.

"Business and working stuff. I will come back here when I can. But now I have to go," Edward said to Lori as he stood up from the couch.

"You promise you will come back to visit?" Lori asked.

Edward smiled at her and nodded. "Yes, trust me," he said. He walked over to where she sat and gave her a hug before walking out the door and leaving the mansion in his car.

The library was now quite. Neither Lori nor Bruce said anything, but Lori felt his eyes on her. She glanced at Bruce and found him glaring. "What's the matter?" she finally said.

Bruce snorted. "Nothing is wrong, everything is fine."

"Yeah, right..." She rolled her eyes and waited for a response. Not getting any she blurted out the question. "Why did you do it? The… the way you acted when Ed was here was so embarrassing. You truly made him feel uncomfortable." Her face was stiff, unsmiling.

"Hey, I've already said I'm sorry for interrupting your snogging, so what more do you want?" Bruce put his face in his hands, sighing deeply. Shaking his head, he looked up and at Lori.

"I'm sorry," he suddenly repeated and gave her an awkward smile. "The truth why I behaved like I did was only because for your safety. Knowing that I'm the Batman won't be as easy as you might think. And letting people get close to you will be difficult when you know this secret. I know that because I told my secret to someone I cared for and problems occurred."

Lori stared at him, opening and closing her mouth, unable to find the right words. "Did you really think that I would tell anyone about your secret? How could you even think like that. I would never have told a soul!" She felt her heartbeat speed up a bit as she got more and more… Oh, she didn't know what she was feeling at that moment. "I thought you trusted me…" To her dismay her voice had cracked just a little as she had spoken.

"I do trust you!" Bruce insisted. "We are friends."

"Yeah right, friends…" she murmured. "A friend doesn't only think about himself and his life, but about others too, like his friends. But you obviously don't know that since you only care about your stupid secret."

"Lori, you know that's not true," Bruce said, looking a little affronted.

"Oh really? Wasn't that what you were talking about moments ago?" she said in an irritated voice. "If you already knew that telling anyone about your secret would cause problems, then why did you tell me? No, wait – why did you even adopt me in the first place?"

Lori stood up from the armchair. She tried to avoid caring about the pain her body felt, but she couldn't help it when she let out a whimper.

Seeing this, Bruce quickly got on his feet, but Lori held out a hand, showing that she didn't want any help from him. "Lori…" he whispered quietly as he saw her dragging herself to the door.

"I need to rest," was all she said before leaving the room, closing the door behind herself.

Bruce groaned in despair. He felt so angry at himself because of what he had said to Lori, and what she had said to him. He knew that he had done a mistake, but it was for her. For her safety, and what he wanted the most was that she would be safe.

**Please review.  
~Anette :)**


	26. The Brewing Storm

**My explanation of why I haven't been posting new chapters so often:**

Wow, I haven't updated this story in a long, long time. I'm sorry! :( What's going on is that I'm failing. I know it's been a while since I posted the last chapter, but I actually have a tons of excuses for that! I mean, I have school and on top of that I have work and I just, I, uhm.. No, who am I kidding? There's no reason for failure. But that does not mean I have nothing upcoming because I do. More homework, more work and then more homework. I'm sorry! There are times when I want to write new chapters and I'm just like, "I'M GOING TO DO IT TODAY!" and then it never works out..

But I hope you all like this new chapter which I have been working on like almost forever... Every now and then I've added some new to it, but then I've deleted it, and then writing it again. Yeah, a lot of editing! And then when the chapter finally is here, it's probably just a mess.** Enjoy XD**

* * *

**Chapter 26**

* * *

Alfred was in the kitchen preparing dinner when Bruce strode in. "How has your day been so far, Master Bruce?" he asked.

"Terrible," was the only thing Bruce said as he sat down on a chair. "Alfred, I have messed up things pretty bad this time." He sighed and leaned back in his chair. "I said something really really dumb to Lori."

Alfred glanced above his shoulder. Quietly he took a cup from the cabinet above the sink and poured fresh brewed tea into. He picked it up. "A cup of tea will do," he said as he handed it to Bruce.

"I will need something stronger to drink than tea," Bruce said and stared down into his cup. "Something's coming."

"Talking about a storm, Master Wayne?" Alfred asked, walking back to the kitchen counter.

"More like a tornado," Bruce said and took a sip of his tea.

The old man chuckled. "So it is that awful," he said, washing a bunch of carrots off at the sink. "Do you want me to talk to her?" he asked over his shoulder.

Bruce shook his head, saying a slightly '_No_'. "No, if anyone is going to talk to her then that person should be me. I did this mistake, and then it is my consequences." He sipped his tea again and then groaned. "I think it was a big mistake to take her in..."

"Well, what is done is done and you can't change it now," Alfred said as he pulled a knife out of a drawer and started chopping up the carrots. "Dinner will be ready very soon. You should go and talk with her now. Then maybe you can eat together for once."

Bruce gazed at this remark. "Thanks Alfred," he said as he stood up from the chair. He placed his now empty cup in the sink.

"Good luck," Alfred said, smiling slightly.

Bruce smiled back. "Thanks, I'll need that, a lot." Then he left.

* * *

Lori suddenly woke up from her little nap, rubbing her eyes. After her talk with Bruce she had locked herself inside her room and cried so much that she had dozed off. Now it all was coming back to her. She stared at herself in the mirror – She looked awful. Suddenly a stinging pain attacked her stomach and she fell backwards on her bed. She knew what this pain was and she felt tear swelling in her eyes. She tried to hold them back as they threatened to break her completely, but it was no use. The tears and the pain were already there and it was all because of regret.

Suddenly there was someone pounding on the door.

"Lori?" Bruce called from the other side of the door. No response. He knew she was awake because he heard the sharp intake of breath. He shuffled some outside the door and he took a deep breath before he grasped the door handle and opened it.

His eyes fell on Lori. She was sitting on her bed, her knees drawn up to her chest and her arms circled around her knees. Her eyes met his and she instantly looked down so that he wouldn't see that she was crying.

"Lori, I…" Bruce looked back at the door, then back at Lori. _Maybe this wasn't the right time_, he thought silently, but shook this thought away. He shuffled across the floor to where she was sitting. "I'm sorry, Lori. Are you okay?"

She didn't reply.

"Look," he said, uncomfortably, "I hate… I hate hearing you cry like this." He looked over at her and with a quiet sigh he gently and carefully rested his hand on her shoulder. She flinched slightly, but said nothing. "I know this is a shit for you and… I'm sorry…"

Lori sniffled, took a deep breath and glanced at Bruce. "I'm sorry too. I realize now that I was just thinking about myself, not thinking about that I was risking your secret too. It's just that I thought you trusted me, so that it wouldn't matter if I got close to people." She was whispering as she spoke and she then smirked. "I'm such an egoist."

The side of Bruce's lip twitched, not really smiling. "No, you're not. If anyone here is an egoist then it is me." Bruce sighed. "I haven't really been here for you so much lately, have I?"

Lori blinked at him, stating, "Are you kiddin' with me?" Lori kept staring at him in resignation. "You've done so much for me. Who was it that took me in when I was alone? You did. Who was it that offered me a job? You did. And who was it that recently saved my life? You again."

"No, the last one was Batman," Bruce grinned sheepishly. "No okay, I understand your point, but ehm… I have been so busy being Batman lately and I'm sorry about that. And to ensure you understand how I feel I thought we could eat dinner together. Alfred told me it was ready soon."

Lori nodded her head. "Sounds great. I'll just need to freshen up and change as well."

Bruce smiled. "Perfect. Just come down when you're ready and I will be–" Bruce froze as the Bat Signal went off. _Damnit, why now?_

"What's the matter?" Lori suddenly asked him. She understood that something was going on.

"Nah, it's nothing, it's just uhm… Duties." His voice was quiet and calm. "Gotham calls for Batman, but I–"

"I understand," Lori said in a sharp voice, cutting him off. "Just go Bruce."

"No, Gotham has banished me away and you… You need me here." Bruce's voice was confused.

"No, I can feel that the time is here now and I think Gotham need you more than I do, right now," Lori stated. Her voice showed her understanding and Bruce nodded.

"Take care," he whispered, giving her a slight hug before leaving the room.

* * *

Alfred pulled out the steak out of the oven, its aroma filling the kitchen. He placed the steak on a plate and brought it to the table where the vegetables already were. He had just walked up the stairs when Bruce passed by him in a hurried pace.

"Master Wayne!" He called after him. "Where are you going?"

Bruce quickly glanced up at Alfred. "Duty calls," he said simply.

Alfred rolled his eyes. "But what about dinner?"

Bruce's lips motioned a word which Alfred understood as 'Later' before running off, heading to the Batcave.

Alfred stood at the top of the staircase, staring the way Bruce had gone with an exasperated smile thinking to himself.

'_Typical.'_

* * *

It was afternoon and the rain was coming down heavily from the darkened sky. Batman was in his Batmobile driving down the street. He had a furious pace, but he had a good reason to. The call on his Bat signal had been from Jim Gordon and he had given him some terrible news, asking him to come to the warehouse at the end of 200th street.

Batman pulled up in front of the warehouse where Gordon had told him to meet him, and as he jumped out of the Batmobile, he felt a sudden wave of intense heat hitting his face and he was thrown backwards. When he managed to get back up on his feet, he was completely shocked. Almost the whole building had been blown to pieces by the explosion and the flames were already spreading from the burning building to other buildings around. Suddenly the sound of gunfire reached his ears and he could hear people screaming. He was just about to run and see what was going on when he suddenly saw a familiar face coming through all the smoke.

"Commissioner!" Batman exclaimed, though his voice was calm. "What the hell is going on?"

Jim shook his head in despair. "It's the Joker. He's taken hostages and is threatening with blowing up the whole building with the hostages inside," he explained, staring at the flames. "This explosion was just a proof that he's not kidding. He only blew up the west side, but it's presumed that already one of the hostages is dead. " He sighed heavily in frustration.

"Who are the hostages?" Batman dreaded asking the question.

"Um, we don't know for sure, but we think that it is a class from Gotham County High School," Jim said, his jaw firm and his eyes shining with unshed tears. "The class was out on a field trip, but they never came back."

"I'll go in and get them." His voice was serious and his eyes were angry.

"No, you can't!" Gordon exclaimed in anger. "It's too dangerous! What the Joker really wants is you and if you go in, he will just kill all the hostages, and you know that!"

"If the Joker is there, then I have no reason to not go in. The Joker is my entire fault and he killed all those people because of me." Batman looked back at Gordon, his eyes icy as ever. "If he wants me, then he can come and get me. I'm here and I won't hide."

Gordon was shivering, not from cold, but from fear. "What are you going to do?" he asked in a worried voice.

"I'll beat him up, him and his henchmen if they are there too." Batman's eyes narrowed and he slowly started to stroll towards the building. "I'll find the hostages and get them out from this hell. I'll find the Joker and bring him back to where he belongs, to Arkham. I'll stop this. Until I do, Gotham will never be safe."

"You're serious…" Gordon said as he watched the dark figure run and disappearing into the flames. As he heard the police sirens coming closer, he hoped that this was not the last time he had seen the hero, and he whispered a silently, '_Good luck_.'


	27. Strictly Business

**AN: **  
Hey everyone, I'm back again with a new chapter. Sorry for taking so long time, but I have had a really busy time, a lot of things going on at school and other stuff. I've found out that I will most probably be updating once a month, at least that's how the plan is right now, depending on how busy I will be and so. So here's the update for December, hope you like it. Look upon it as a christmas gift from me to you, all my readers. ^^ So yeah, I will say Merry Christmas now, and please review when you've finished reading. It warms my heart. ^^

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 27

* * *

**

Batman cursed under his breath as he ran through the cold air, sneaking towards the warehouse. He stopped and quickly caught his breath and tried to clear his head. When he got inside, what was he then going to do? Of course the Joker had chosen a warehouse as his place; this was the kind of place where every gang did their business that they didn't want the outside to know about. There was only one difference – the Joker always wanted to be in the spotlight.

He watched his surroundings carefully and it stung his heart deep when he realized that this situation reminded him so much about the one he taken care of about six months ago, and which had hurt him deeper than he first had believed. Batman sighed again he found out that it would be clever to get higher up. He crawled up on the roof and once he got up, he spotted dimmed light coming through a small roof hatch on the roof a bit far from where he was. Batman sighed once again and started to make his way down over to the other roof. Using his bat-shaped cape he glided gracefully in the shadows and landed. As he landed he made a slight noise and he hoped that the Joker hadn't heard him. Suddenly he heard a frightful scream and there was loud noises coming from the inside of the warehouse. Batman got over to the roof hatch and carefully he leaned forward to peek inside. He didn't like what he saw.

What he saw was a large open room and in the middle sat the hostages, a group of frightened teenagers. They were tied up and blindfolded, as their masked kidnappers held guns and knives to their heads and throats. A few meters away from where the hostages were, was the Joker, laughing maniacally as he fiercely hit a male hostage till he was unconscious. The Joker laughed even more at this. As the Joker walked toward the unconscious hostage, Batman felt like everything was going in slow motion, above all when the Joker sliced the hostage's throat, before giving him a big smile. Batman felt sick.

What Batman wanted to do the most was to just break through the hatch and beat the Joker till death. But he knew he couldn't do that. He couldn't risk the hostages' lives. Understanding that he couldn't get in through the roof he grabbed the gutter and slid down. As he landed on the ground he spotted a small encrusted window and peeked through. He could hardly see anything on the other side of the window, but one couldn't fail to see the recognizable figure of the Joker. He was very close, showing his back to the window. The Joker seemed tensed and Batman tried to hear what he was talking about.

"HAHA! You really thought you could escape from me? You thought you could slip through my fingers, huh?" Even though he laughed, his voice sounded bit irritated. The tiny figure in front of the Joker spoke, but it had to be almost soundless because Batman couldn't hear anything.

The Joker moved closer to the figure. "You think you're gonna be saved, do you?" The Joker's voice had changed now, and he sounded amused. He grinned. "You all cling to the ray of hope that your heroic Batman will come and save you. It's pathetic really." The Joker laughed. "You see, he's not gonna come, because he's not a hero. He has abandoned you all. You should all be thankful for what I do."

The familiar sound of someone being hit reached Batman's ears and he heard that someone was whimpering. He hated it and couldn't stand it any longer. He had to do something with it. Finding a rusty door on his right, he took a last deep breath as he ran forward and kicked in the door.

The Joker's face whirled around and he glared at the large dark figure standing in the doorway. "Oh great, that was just a splendid timing! Can't you see that I'm busy right here, Batsy-watsy?"

"I can say," Batman said drily. "Let the hostages go, Joker. Game over."

The Joker blurted a laugh. "But Batsy, this is no game, it's strictly business."

Batman grinned and gave the Joker a look. "Strictly business? Wow, that was some words I never thought I would hear you say. Sure you don't mean something like revenge?"

The Joker snarled and motioned his hand towards his henchmen. Suddenly one of his henchmen brandished a knife and grabbing the hostage's head, he pulled it back and delivered the killing slice to her throat. The Joker smiled. "Insulting the funnyman has its price. Do it again and they will be killed, _one _by _one_. I will do it and you know I will."

"If your plan was only to kidnap and kill, you would have already killed them all," Batman pointed out. The Joker chuckled at his remark. "Tell me, what is it that you really want?"

The Joker tilted his head to one side. "I thought you had a good memory, Batsy. You know I've already told you before what I want."

"Which is?"

"_You_, the _real_ you. The Batman without his mask is what I really want, and an opportunity to show everyone who you are and then take you away. You see, what makes someone a real hero is a big white smile and you don't have it. HAHAHA!"

The Joker laughed hysterically.

"Well, now that you're here you can just give in to me. That will be the easiest, and also the least bloody way. Say yes and I will let the hostages go. You have my word, Batsy."

"Which is a word I don't believe," the Batman retorted. "I don't believe criminals and murders."

"And that's the reason why you're the minority here and I'm the majority," the Joker said smiling. "And FYI, I take that as a _no_. Arm it now!"

Suddenly there was an explosion at the other side of the room which caused the roof to collapse. Dust swirled around and Batman was unable to see anything. Gradually, it receded into a thin white sheath that faded away. He looked at the place where the hostages had been, but they were nowhere in sight. Looking up he saw the Joker hurrying up the stairs with his henchmen and the hostages behind him. It seemed like they were heading for the roof.

Batman rushed outside and using his grappling gun, he quickly got himself up on the roof. He rushed over to where he saw the roof door was and he hid beside it. Suddenly the door opened and the Joker with the hostages came out. Batman then attacked, kicking the Joker violently. He then closed the door by slamming it so hard that the henchmen fell backwards.

"Stay back!" Batman growled to the frightened teenagers. They all did what they were ordered and they all bent down in the corner. Batman gave them a slight nod before turning swiftly to face the Joker who was back up.

"It's game over, Joker, you got nowhere to run. Are you going to give in quietly or do we have to do this the hard way?"

The Joker paused, and then smiled widely. "Oh, you mean beating me up when you say the 'hard' way. I forgot that you don't kill people. I think I choose to fight you," the Joker said, looking rather smug and still smiling that twisted smile that Batman hated so much.

"Look around you, Joker. There's nowhere to go without fighting me and having a fight with me will be ridiculous."

"But it will be so much fun, don't you think?"

And with that, Batman lunged and attacked. Once more he hit the Joker so hard that he fell, landing on the cold and wet rooftop. The Joker got back on his feet, laughing, but instead of attacking Batman, he reached for something from inside his robes. Batman didn't know what it was, but knew it couldn't be any good. Using his martial arts skills he raised his body off the ground and kicked out at the Joker, who had to let go off what he had been holding onto. It showed out to be one of his homemade detonators. Luckily Batman had managed to kick him before the Joker had pressed the button. Angrily, the Joker was now crawling hastily for the detonator, but Batman stopped him.

Batman knocked his elbow painfully against the Joker's back and swirled him around, grabbing him by his shirt. "Stop this game right now!" he growled to the Joker, but he just grinned.

With a slight laugh the Joker suddenly kicked Batman in the groan. Releasing his harsh grip on the Joker's shirt, Batman staggered backwards and Joker saw his chance. He threw himself forward and grabbing the detonator, he laughed wildly. Batman was running and he hit the Joker, making him fall over the edge. Quickly he used his grappling gun he caught the Joker with the line before he hit the ground. He hoisted the Joker back up to him, though let him dangle.

"I told you to stop this," Batman growled and he glared at the Joker, though the Joker didn't see it so much because of Batman's mask.

The Joker didn't say anything, he just smiled. Batman suddenly knew why. _The detonator! _He saw the Joker pulling something out and realized that the Joker had the detonator. Before Batman could do anything, the Joker had already pressed the button and the familiar sound of bricks blowing up sung in his ears.

Batman's head whipped around and he spotted that explosions were coming off and he realized that the Joker had caused a chain reaction of explosions. Glancing at the teenagers he saw that bombs were going off close to them. Quickly he hoisted the Joker up, swinging him up on the roof, before he quickly jumped forward.

"Hold on!" he ordered them and, as soon as they did what he had told, he ran towards the edge and jumped forward. Trying to cause the teenagers as little harm as possible, he made a movement when they reached the ground and he landed on his back. Standing up he ordered the teenagers to run in safety behind some walls nearby, but before they got there a new bomb went off close by. Batman fell backwards, hitting his head on something sharp and falling into unconsciousness.

**

* * *

**

The sounds of bombs going off could be heard outside the warehouse and surely many miles away as well. The police could see the smoke and the fire burning wildly. They had called for the fire department to come and try to kill the fire, but they hadn't yet come.

One of the policemen tried to take a step towards the building, but was stopped by a small bomb going off just a few meters away from him.

"Move back people, we can't risk the hostages lives," Commissioner Gordon ordered. The Commissioner knew something was wrong, that Batman was having trouble because there were so many bombs going off. Gordon glanced around himself – many people had come to see what was going on and they were all in panic. Most of them were relations with the missing students. Gordon cursed under his breath. _Damnit, why did the Joker take so young people as his hostages? _

**

* * *

**

When the Batman gained consciousness, his step was unstable and he was first confused. Suddenly he saw the bruised and bleeding faces of the teenagers he had tried to save. He crawled over to them and checked their pulses. They were still breathing, one of them weakly though. Batman understood that he needed to evacuate the hostages and he started to do it. Bringing the teenagers back to life, he let them lean on him and they started to walk towards the outside.

He had almost carried them out when someone suddenly hit him in the back. Batman fell forward and the teenagers fell as well. Batman suddenly remembered he had another problem to take care of, and as he turned around he faced the Joker's mad face. He was bleeding on his right cheek which was washing away parts of his white makeup.

"You didn't believe you could hide from me?" The Joker grinned and jumped forward, kicking Batman wildly in his stomach.

Suddenly Batman grabbed Joker's foot and spun him around before tossing him fiercely on the ground. Batman got to his feet and punched the Joker right in the face. Batman was going to hit him again, just before Joker managed to roll away. Joker kicked Batman so he fell and as he did, Joker stood over him and holding him down. Joker reached for something in his pocket and held up a small bomb, swaying above Batman's head.

"Looks like you're done, Batsy-watsy, and now it's time to say nighty night." The Joker smiled. "Not what I had imagined, but it's effective."

As Joker was about to throw the bomb, Batman used his legs to kick the Joker so that he hit the wall. Batman quickly rolled to the side as the Joker pulled himself from the wall. The Joker was not so happy now.

"Hey yo, Batsy! You think you're being funny, huh?" The Joker howled. He glanced at the hostages and smiling he hurled a new bomb at them. Batman didn't have any time to think, he just threw himself in the way and pushed the hostages out of the away. The bomb hit him hard and on his right side, his suit started to shred and his cowl was beginning to melt. Batman groaned in pain and when all the smoke faded, he could smell the smell of melting rubber and he glanced at his right arm. There was only a small part left. He tried to move, but it was so painful. Suddenly he spotted Joker's blur face not far away from him. Batman began to kick towards the Joker as he saw that the Joker was reaching for his mask. Feeling able to move, Batman grabbed the hostages and threw a batarang with a burning cloth toward an oil drum. Batman ran with hostages as quick as they could to get out from the warehouse area. They had just got outside, when the warehouse lighted up in a flash and blew up.

"Batman!" a familiar voice called. Batman looked up and spotted Gordon rushing towards him. "What happened, where is the Joker? Are the hostages okay?" Batman moaned in pain, only motioning his hand to show Gordon where the rest of the hostages where.

_Four people_, Gordon thought in despair. _Four out of a whole class of students. It's not fair to their parents._

Gordon hesitated a bit before asking, "And the Joker?" He was afraid to hear the answer. He didn't get any, but Batman just pointed towards the burning building and shook his head in despair.

"I have to go – take care of the hostages." Batman groaned and turned around running towards where he had left his Batmobile. He got inside and as soon as he got out on the highway, he speeded up and was just a black shadow in the night.

"Commissioner Gordon!" A detective came running towards Gordon. "What happened? Was that the Batman that took off?"

Gordon glanced for a moment and then blinked twice before saying, "Yeah, it was. I tried to stop him, but he was too quick. He left these four persons behind."

"It was the Batman all the time? Damn." The detective's eyes were wide and he went over to check their pulses. "They're alive, but they're lucky. Damn that bat! How can he do such things to them? They're just kids!"

Gordon nodded slightly. "Yeah, it's a cruel behavior. We should have a better look after him," the commissioner murmured and turned away. "Call for an ambulance and report that Batman has lunged again."

**

* * *

**

**W**as the fight scene too long and boring?  
**D**id the "detonator-thingy" remind you too much about TDK?  
Please let me know your opinions ^^**  
~Anette**


	28. When Sorrow Comes Alive

**AN: **Hey, please forgive me! I know this update should have come aages ago, but unfortunately not before now. I'll try to update again as soon as I can, but my schedule for Februrary is kind of full, but I'll try. I at least hope you all will enjoy this chapter. It's not so long which is should've been, but again no. Hopefully the next one will be longer. :)

**Please review - reviews make me smile! :D

* * *

**

**Chapter 28

* * *

**

Batman was driving in his Batmobile, his speed unbelievable fast as he was heading towards Wayne Manor. He was in terrible pain, feeling like his whole body was burning. He let out a gasp of pain as he drove the dark vehicle along the road. His face was bleak as he geared his car straight towards Wayne Manor. He drove and parked in front of Wayne Manor and by the time Bruce had opened the car he was shouting for Alfred.

Hearing the agonizing sound in Bruce's voice Alfred came rushing down. "Master Bruce, what happened?" Alfred hurried over to Bruce and helped him out of the car and inside the doors. His eyes widened as he noticed all the burn marks covering Bruce's suit. He could feel the heat steaming from the Batsuit and he saw that parts of it were melting.

"Master Wayne, we've got to take this bloody suit off of you at once or it will melt into your skin," he said as he grabbed onto the cowl and tried to pull it off.

Bruce grunted in pain when the cowl was removed, leaving a stinging mark on his neck. Soon the rest of the suit was off of him, and feeling that his legs could no longer carry him, he collapsed immediately of exhaustion.

"Alfred…help me." Bruce's voice was weak, barely loud enough to be heard. He felt blood trickling through his skin and running down his back.

Alfred bit his lip from crying and went over to his Master, helping him up on his feet. Having Bruce leaning on him, he helped Bruce upon a couch inside one of the rooms. He then hurried over and into another room nearby with many drawers and a closet. Opening the closet he pulled out the medical kit and rushed back to Bruce.

Bruce was losing his consciousness, his eyelids fluttering.

"Master Wayne, you have to stay awake! Just try to stay awake for a little longer!" Alfred's voice was a little panicked as he got out some bandages and a bottle with liquid content, peroxide. Sitting down on a chair, Alfred gently began to apply the peroxide to the wounds. White bubbles began to appear as the substance began to kill the bacteria that resided in the wounds. He glanced up at Bruce as he heard a slight hiss escape his lips. "My apologies, Master Wayne, I'm afraid it's necessary."

Satisfied with the cleaning, Alfred began to wrap up Bruce's wounds with the bandages and tied it. Bruce moaned in pain and glancing down he met Alfred's eyes, so warm and still so sad.

"Alfred, I don't know what to do anymore," Bruce whispered. "I will never forget this night and neither will I forgive myself for what happened."

"Whatever happened I'm sure it wasn't your fault," Alfred said, trying to comfort Bruce. "We all do mistakes, some might be worse than others, but yet they are only mistakes everyone can do."

"Not this one, Alfred, this is my _own_ personal mistake which only _I _can do as Batman," Bruce said. "Last night was terrible, death upon more death and blood was spilled. You see that the longer it takes me to find a way to stop the Joker, the more people will suffer. The Joker has already gotten many people killed and last night twenty people more was killed." His voice was calm, though he was clearly in grief.

Alfred's brow furrowed in sadness as he listened to Bruce. "I understand, but you shouldn't blame yourself for what happened last night. All that is the past now."

Bruce turned his head towards his butler. "Why shouldn't I blame myself?" he asked gravely. "All this pain, all this suffering – it's all connected to me. You know as well as I do that the list of deaths because of Batman is long. It's because of me that they are dead, because I couldn't stop the Joker quickly enough. And now – the longer it will take me to stop him, the more lives will be lost."

Bruce grunted slightly, feeling the pain rise and he breathed heavily. Alfred helped him to get laid out straight on the couch and tried to make Bruce as comfortable as possible.

Alfred sighed and rose from the chair. "Even as Batman you can't _know_ everything, you can't _predict_ anything and, even though how much you want, you can't_ protect _everyone. All you _can_ do is to be who you are. And even with your mask, deep down you're still a normal person like everyone else, a human and humans are not perfect. No one can be perfect even though someone tries to be, but usually they fail realizing that they all do mistakes."

With that said Alfred turned, walking out the door and leaving Bruce alone. Closing the door after him, he prayed that Bruce would get a better day tomorrow.

* * *

"Hello, my name is Olivia Walden from GCN Tonight and I'm currently standing outside the wreckage that of warehouse where a hostage situation was going on earlier tonight. The police received an anonymous call warning them that something was going to happen during this night," the female reporter explained. "It has been presumed that the hostages were a group of students from Gotham County High School that went missing after they had gone out on a field trip and didn't come back in time. The person behind this crime was said to be no one else than the cruel and evil minded Joker."

_Gotham County High School_, Lori repeated in a low voice, her eyes stuck on the TV. _My school…_

The young and blonde reporter walked closer to the still burning building as she spoke. "It is with deep regret that I must inform you that tonight's episode caused the lives of about twenty young teenagers, leaving Gotham in sorrow."

Lori had been awake all night, worrying about Bruce and wondering about what was happening in the darkness. She yawned. Indeed she was tired, but sleep was the last thing on her mind. She couldn't go to bed without knowing if Bruce was okay, unharmed.

For just a few minutes ago she had turned on the TV and started watching the news. Now she was sitting there completely shocked. What she heard was painful, knowing that one of the victims could be one she knew. Lori glanced back at the screen and saw that the reporter was now eagerly pacing after a man Lori knew too well. _Commissioner Jim Gordon_.

"Commissioner Gordon, what do you have to say about tonight's episode?" Olivia Walden, the reporter, seemed a little anxious when asking the question.

"I've absolutely nothing to tell you," Gordon murmured as he rushed towards his car.

"The whole town is filled with horror after yet more murders. When is this madness going to stop?" Olivia kept pushing on with her questions. "People are expecting that something will be done."

"We're doing everything we are capable of doing," Gordon replied, unlocking the car door.

"Really?" she said in a suspicious tone, raising an eyebrow. "Then what about the Batman? Rumors say that he was lurking around this place and that everything was under control until he came, that he was the reason why this bloodbath happened in the first place."

Irritated by the reporter's questions, Gordon shook his head and turned around. "Hey listen – I have no idea what Batman was doing here this night. All I know right now is that I will have to tell the sad news to the victims' families and tell them if their kid is alive or not. All that happened tonight will bring sorrow to every citizen of Gotham for a long time."

Gordon sniveled. His eyes made it clear that he was upset about the whole thing. "When it comes to Batman I don't believe he was the reason for all the killing after all. Yes, it's true that he was here, but when I spotted him leaving this place I found four of the students, alive."

"Are you assuming that he rescued them?" Olivia sounded totally shocked.

Gordon shrugged. "Well, that's just one of my theories, it's not sure that's the right one, but yet not impossible. Good night," he said as climbed into his car.

Olivia turned facing the camera. "And that was all from our commissioner, wishing everyone a good night. Most definitely it won't be after all that have happened. I'm Olivia Walden and thank you for watching."

The news ended, followed by the weather. Lori shut off the television, but her eyes kept staring at the black screen. Without blinking, she shot up from the chair and spun out of the room. She continued running down the long hallway till she got to the stairs.

"Alfred?" she called out glancing around at her surroundings. When she received no response she continued running down the stairs and into the kitchen. She found Alfred standing by the sink. "Oh, Alfred," she whispered and ran to him.

Alfred glanced up to see the young girl coming towards him, nearly in tears. "What's the matter, honey?" he whispered and stroked her hair trying to calm her down. She was breathing rapidly and sobbing in between.

When she finally calmed down a bit she stared at Alfred, her eyes still filled with tears of horror and sadness. "I just watched the news… Oh Alfred, it was horrible." she whispered, still sobbing a bit. "They were all talking about death, blood and more death."

She sobbed once more, but Alfred wiped away a tear from her eyes with his thumb. "Yes, I know. I watched it earlier." He was speaking slowly.

"But the hostage episode ended for many hours ago… Bruce should've come back by now if, if…" She paused, not really wanting to finish the sentence, "if he was okay," she said after a moment of silence. "But what if he's not? We should go out and look for him!" Lori spun around heading for the front door.

"Wait!" Alfred shouted.

Lori glanced over her shoulder to see Alfred coming after her. "What? We can't just stay here without knowing if Bruce's okay!" she said, all traces of being sad gone.

"Master Bruce is fine, he came back a few hours ago," Alfred said. "I assumed you were asleep and I didn't bother to wake you up, since Master Bruce was not in a condition of speaking at that moment."

A small smile curved Lori's lips. "It's okay, now I know that Bruce's alive I can breathe normally again. Thank you Alfred." She was overwhelmed with relief and joy. "Can I see him?" she asked after a moment.

Alfred shook his head slowly. "I'm afraid Master Bruce is still too weak to be waking up tonight. He needs rest and I believe someone else do too," Alfred said, smiling, as he saw that Lori yawned heavily.

"Nah, I will stay up till Bruce wakes up," Lori protested. She yawned again.

"Go to sleep, Lori. Go to sleep. Things will be better tomorrow."

Lori rubbed her eyes and smirked. "Yeah, I suppose so. But if he wakes up again, will you please tell me?" She glanced at Alfred, smiling.

"Of course, although it may be against my rule of getting at least 8 hours of sleep," the old man said smiling and wishing her a good night sleep.

"Thanks Alfred," she said and headed up the stairs. When she reached the top she turned. Good night, Alfred," she whispered with a smile. Then she was gone.


	29. Recovery

**AN:** Kind of strange chapter. Hope you like it anyway. =D Please read and review. I'll update again soon.

* * *

**Chapter 29

* * *

**

Bruce lay straight and bit his lip, fighting back the screams of pain that were filling his body. He was sweating and shaking heavily. Groaning he crushed a pillow over his head. In his mind he could see the small shadows of people standing before him and a sick red smile laughing hysterically.

"No, don't let them!" he screamed hoarsely. "Please…"

His wounds had stopped bleeding and he felt his wounds on his side grow more intense as he was coming down to tears. He could feel it all. The pain. The screams. _The blood. _There were so much death and terror at once. And he hated that he found himself in the middle of it all, that everything was happening because of him.

Bruce crushed the pillow harder over his head, but no matter how hard he tried he couldn't get rid of his horrifying flashbacks. The laughter had sucked itself into his brain and was now determined to stay.

Rolling over to his side, he tried to hide from the pain enveloping him. He closed his eyes tight trying to fall back into sleep, but he was only forced back into his nightmare.

_Everything was dark. Bruce looked around himself, but he couldn't see anyone. He was standing in the middle of a city, a dead city surrounded by fallen buildings. The sky was dark and all he could see was the bright shining moon. It was full moon tonight. Bruce could feel that there was a cold wind blowing all around him, on his neck and down his back. Every time it touched him it was like being stabbed by knives. It stabbed through his skin and right to his heart. _

_Suddenly the scene changed. Bruce was now in his Batsuit flying over the dark city called Gotham. Along his side there were thousands of bats flying around him in fury. When he landed the bats started to attack him, just like the time when he had fell into the well as a child. He felt so weak and so afraid. _

_The scene flashed and changed and he was standing in the empty streets, wearing his normal clothes. Suddenly Jim Gordon, Alfred and other people of Gotham came running up the street, using guns against him. _

"_What the hell is going on?" he shrieked. A bullet was flying towards him in slow motion when the scene flashed once more. _

_When he now looked around, he didn't know where he was. He was facing a dark wall that stood before him. The wall was stained with blood and everywhere he looked there was blood spattered on the wall and on the ground. _

_Hearing a weak sound, Bruce whirled around to see Lori lying lifeless on the ground… and she was barely breathing. He hurried over to her, shaking her body. "Lori!" he shouted. "Lori, wake up. We've got to get away from this place." Turning he glanced around. Earlier the place had seemed so open, but now there were bloodstained walls everywhere. It was darker and emptier than ever, and the silence made him shrill. On the blood he could see the bodies of dead people. _

_Bruce eyes turned back to Lori. Turning her head, Lori opened her eyes. But there was something wrong with her. Though she was awake, her eyes were dead and without life. _

"_Everything is going to be all right, Lori, I promise," he whispered softly._

_Suddenly her eyes changed into two wicked eyes, her brown hair turning greasy green and clown red lips forming a wicked smile. A hideous laugh escaped from the mouth and cackled all over the place._

"_So, here we meet again, Batsywatsy!" The Joker cackled._

"NOOOO!"

Bruce woke up in a cold sweat, his heart thumping. He had a massive headache and put a hand to his head. He was shaking a bit and as he looked around himself he realized that it was all a nightmare. He sighed out in relief. For some minutes he lay down thinking about the dream. What had happened? Could this be a sign of an upcoming danger? Was the Joker up to something and was Lori involved in it? Bruce shook the thoughts away as he heard the door click and Alfred entered.

"Master Bruce, are you alright? I heard you scream," the butler said urgently.

"Yes, I'm fine," Bruce said weakly as the dream once again filled his brain.

* * *

Bruce's pain had subsided and he was strong enough to get into a sitting position on the couch. He looked down and spotted the stains of dried blood on the furniture and he glared. He glanced over at the clock hanging on the wall.

_12:15._

He had been out for a long time. He gritted his teeth – there were so many things he had to do. He tried to think, but all he could think of was the dream and the swarm of angry bats.

He then realized it. It was like a revelation. He needed to get his Batsuit fixed quickly!

He tried to get up and tried again. When he got up Alfred almost instantly came into the room, saying "No, no, Master Bruce. You are still very weak and you must rest!"

"Sorry Alfred, I can't," Bruce said. "I've got work to do. My Batsuit were destroyed. I need to get it fixed so I can find the Joker and put an end to all this madness!"

Alfred rolled his eyes at him. "For god's sake Bruce, you are heavily injured! I need you to sit down and relax," he said.

"No! Alfred, I can't just sit down and let more people get killed. I can't let it happen again. I won't!"

Bruce tried to get up, but Alfred pushed him back down. "Just sit down! I'm not going to let you go out and almost get killed again. I can't take it any longer."

"I'm not going out, but Gotham needs me right now. I'm going down to the cave. All the materials for the Batsuit are there, and you should know that this is important to me!

"And you should know that your health means a lot to me," Alfred remarked. "Please Master Bruce, you need rest and recovery. I know that Gotham needs you more than ever because of yesterday's events… but so do we."

Bruce frowned, understanding that with 'we' he meant himself and Lori.

Alfred sighed. "Even Batman needs time to recover."

Bruce looked up and glared at this remark, but deep down he knew that Alfred was telling the truth. Still he wanted to deny the facts. Bruce opened his mouth to say something, but quickly closed it again. Sighing he sat back down on the couch. It amused him when he realized how easy it was for Alfred to make him change his mind. He sighed once more and grinned.

"Alright," he finally agreed.

* * *

The clock struck 13:18 when Lori was sitting at the kitchen table with the newspaper and a cup of tea in front of her. She examined today's headline with sadness.

_**GOTHAM'S JOKER HELD CHILD HOSTAGES.  
READ ALL ABOUT IT.**_

Lori was scared of reading what it said, but she turned to the page noted under the headline. What she saw was extreme. There were pictures of burning houses and people crying. The text said:

_Yesterday, at 6:15, disturbances broke out at the Narrows. The police arrived on the scene at 6:30 and it turned out to be a deadly hostage situation lead by the terrifying Joker. There were many fatal casualties and explosions. The surviving hostages were at once transferred to the hospital having dangerous injuries……_

Lori stopped reading and was just about to read the list of the casualties when Bruce came through the door.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" she asked gently, concern clouding her eyes as she watched him.

"Oh, I'm fine," he murmured, walking towards her. He walked over to the refrigerator and grabbed a can of juice. "What about yourself?"

Lori smiled. "I'm okay, just sickly worried about you. For a while I thought you had died," she said. "I can't believe what happened. It must have been so horrible." Her heart was swelling with sympathy.

Bruce bit his lip. "Yes, it wasn't a pleasant sight to see," he whispered and put the drink to his lips. "What does it say in the paper?"

"Nothing more than they said on the news," Lori said. "And they have one thing in common."

"Oh really? What is that?" Bruce asked raising an eyebrow skeptically, though there were sign of humor in his tone.

"They all blame it on Batman," Lori said, staring at Bruce with a worried expression on her face. "I know that isn't true because it was the Joker who did it."

"Let them say what they want to say. It's best that way," he said irritated and muttered something Lori didn't hear.

"But what they say is the lie!" Lori said, clearly upset.

Bruce groaned. "I know they're lying too, but for now let them. Okay?" Lori nodded and Bruce smiled. "The only way to show them the truth is to catch the Joker and that soon. Speaking of which, I've got to fix some things. My Batsuit needs a makeover."

"I understand. But Bruce? There's something I've wanted to talk with about," she started slowly, her words uncertain and halting.

Bruce turned. "I'm all ears." He listened raptly, his attention now focused solely on her.

"I don't really know how to put this, but I…" She paused for a minute. "I want to go back to school."

Bruce expression changed and he looked quite relieved as he smiled.

"What?" Lori asked questioning.

"Oh nothing. It's just that I thought it was something more important," he said chuckling.

"Well, it is to me," she said frowning.

"Yes, of course," he smiled trying to stay serious.

"It's just that… I know I've only been working at Wayne Enterprises for one day, but what hell of day it was," Lori admitted. "The reason why I want to do this is because of everything that has happened to me and in my life."

Lori grinned and looked up at Bruce. "Don't get me wrong, most of what has happened has been positive, but not everything. I miss the life I had before and ever since I moved here, I've had a bit of trouble adjusting back into my life. I just want a bit of my old ordinary life back." She smiled.

Bruce nodded. "I understand, and I'll tell Lucius about the changes," he said as he threw the can of juice into the trashcan.


	30. Smoke and Rain

**AN:** Yes yes, I know it has been a very long time since the last update and I'm truly sorry! I bet some of you thought I had abandoned my fanfic, but I haven't. It's still in progress, but I'm very often having a writer's block so no good with that! Anyway, I didn't think it would take so long, but it did. Sorry. :/ Here's the new chapter then, I hope you like it and it's actually quite long. I hope it's not only _'blahblahblah'_, but also a bit interesting.

**Please read and review. ^^**

* * *

**Chapter 30**

**

* * *

**

* * *

It was early Wednesday morning. Lori was sleeping peacefully in her bed without a care in the world, until her alarm clock went off, waking her up for what she thought would be a horrible day of high school. She had contemplated not going, considering everything that had happened yesterday. Still she thought it would be of respect to show up when the school was holding a memorial service for all the students that were murdered last night. She had a feeling that the school day would be filled with fright and tears.

_Maybe this is a bad idea after all_, she thought to herself. _Well Lori, it's too late having second thoughts. Just jump into it…_

Lori sighed as she threw the covers off her and got up, revealing her red pajamas. She had just gotten up when the door that led to the hallway outside suddenly opened and Alfred's anxious face peering inside at her. He smiled, looking quite relieved as he clapped his hands together.

"Ah Miss Lori, I see you are already awake. Excellent! Now I won't have to be the one to wake you up in a somewhat dreadful way."

Lori smiled. "Good morning, Alfred."

Alfred walked closer to the windows and pulled back the curtains. Turning around, he glanced at Lori saying, "Did you sleep well?"

"Yes, very well," said Lori, although it was not an entirely true statement.

"Do not think about how it is going to be today. Everything is going to be fine, Lori," Alfred assured her. She smiled shyly. "Going back to school will do you good. It is very important to have friends at your own age as well, and not only old useless people who should be stuffed away or displayed at a museum."

Lori rolled her eyes at him. "Come on, Alfred! There are two things you need to understand. First, you're not that old," she said. He smiled at that. "Second, no man is useless as long as he has a friend. I am very lucky to have you as my friend"

Alfred laughed mildly as the two of them shared a hug. "That's very kind of you, Miss Lori. You are indeed one special girl," he said as he stood. "Now, you should take a quick shower and get dressed, or else you will be late for school. I will be downstairs and make you breakfast."

Lori nodded. Alfred returned a smile and stepped out of the room. She took a quick shower and quickly got dressed. She went down and headed towards the kitchen, the smell of toast coming to her.

Alfred was standing at the counter, his back towards her, but he turned as he heard the rumble coming from her stomach. "I have made you toast," he said winking at her.

Lori grabbed some toast and sat at the dining table. She glanced over, seeing that Alfred had turned on the small television on the kitchen counter. She was able to see it from where she sat, currently showing today's weather report. Lori slightly jumped as the program suddenly switched to what it said was _'breaking news'_. She munched on her toast as the anchorwoman spoke. She noticed that Alfred now also was focusing on the TV. His hand stretched out as he turned the volume up.

Dragging her eyes away from Alfred, she turned to watch the news when she finally understood what the anchorwoman was talking about, making her drop her toast on her plate.

"_Just a few minutes ago this video footage was anonymously sent to us._"

The scene changed, the woman disappearing and being replaced by the video of a man with an evil sickening smile. The video was unprofessional and shaky, but both Lori and Alfred were shocked by the sight.

"_Good morning my dear Gothamites! Get ready for a new day with many many options! Are you ready to play a game with me? You should be because I hate bad players, HAHAHAHAA!!!"_

The video ended, a blurred image remaining on the TV screen.

Lori was still sitting in her chair, a bit shaken as she shook her head at Alfred. "I can't believe this man. After all he did just that day ago… And now, he is gonna do it again? What's the matter with him?"

"That's just the way the Joker is."

Lori turned her head to see Bruce standing behind her, only wearing a dark blue pajamas bottom. He looked extremely tired. "The Joker doesn't need to have reason for doing what he does. If he likes it, he takes it. If not, then he kills it. But I must admit that this time he, for some reasons, has changed his way of thinking. He actually has a goal this time."

Lori frowned. "What do you mean?"

"He told me he won't stop killing until he gets what he want, which apparently is the real Batman," he said.

"But you can't give in to him," Lori said in some sort of a pleading way.

"I don't know yet." Bruce groaned for a moment before looking down at her. "So, uhm...school. You're sure you wanna go?"

Lori glared at him, confused at his sudden change of subject. "Uhm yeah, I think so. I think I need to go out and be, uhm, socialized," she said.

"Okay. If that's what you want, I won't stop you," Bruce said. His lip twitched forming a somewhat halfway smile. "All I'm saying is that it will be much safer for you to stay here. You too just saw the video tape and it should therefore be quite understandable–"

"Bruce, I've already made up my mind," she said cutting Bruce off. "I'm going."

Bruce sighed and shrugged lightly. "Very well. Have fun at school then and try to be safe for once, will you?" He grinned at her before leaving the kitchen.

Lori chuckled, spending some minutes finishing her breakfast. She looked up and saw that Alfred was coming to her. "Are you ready to go? I'll drive you to school." He bowed his head.

"Alfred, you won't mind driving me as well?"

They glanced up and saw it was Bruce coming back through the doors, grabbing a piece of the toast. He was now properly dressed wearing an expensive Armani. "I've just got a call from Lucius, board meeting."

Alfred bowed his head again. "Of course I won't mind, Master Wayne."

Bruce smiled at him. "Thanks Alfred."

"Can we go now?" Lori interrupted, giving the clock a worried glance. "School starts in ten minutes."

"Yes, of course," Alfred said. "We're on our way out now."

"Great, I'll go ahead," she said as she went through the door.

Picking up her backpack along the way she hurried through the front door and put her backpack in the backseat of the Rolls. She stopped, blinking at the car. What would her classmates say when seeing her with this car? She rolled eyes and glanced back at Wayne Manor to see Bruce coming down the stone stairs. Without a word said he slid elegantly inside the backseat. Lori did the same.

The car ride seemed to Lori as long and never-ending, as neither she nor Bruce, not even Alfred, spoke a single word. She glanced up at Bruce who was staring confidently out the window. Suddenly his head turned and he looked back at her.

"What's the matter?" he asked her.

"Nothing's wrong," Lori answered and looking through the window, she spotted her school. "Hey Alfred, can we drive around the corner? The Rolls kind of draws attention if you know what I mean…"

"All fine Miss Lori," Alfred replied from the driver's seat and did as he was told.

Lori grabbed her backpack from the seat and waved a hasty goodbye before she slammed the door behind her.

* * *

Bruce watched her go for a moment.

"You think she'll be okay?" he asked Alfred.

"Of course she will. Miss Lori is a clever girl and a very charming one as well. She won't have any problems," Alfred assured.

"I bet you're right," Bruce smiled and ordered Alfred to drive on.

"I guess I'm not really worrying about Lori personally, but about the Joker and what he is planning to do. I'm not sure of what this means, but lately I have had a feeling of that something is going to happen to Lori." Bruce sighed. "Maybe I'm just being paranoid, but I had that dream and everything…"

There was a chuckle coming from the driver's seat. "Master Wayne – you are _not_ paranoid. What you are I would like to call overprotecting. There is nothing wrong about that."

Bruce grinned. "No, that is true."

Due to the explosions caused by the Joker that happened barely a week ago, the board had decided it would be the best to move all business at Wayne Tower to a safer building until the reconstruction had been finished. The Rolls stopped in front of the temporarily building.

"Thanks Alfred, I really appreciate talking with you about things like this." Unbuckling his seatbelt, Bruce opened the car door and stepped outside.

"Goodbye Alfred, I'll see you soon."

Alfred bowed his head to Bruce, rolling down the car window. "It is always my pleasure and Master Bruce – you should talk with Lucius about a new suit. As you know, the old one is what you could say quite worn-out."

"Yes, I was planning to do it. Thanks again," Bruce said as he headed towards the building. As he walked he looked around himself at all the people walking in the street. For all he knew, they could all be a part of the Joker's new plan. Bruce knew he had a lot of things to do. He knew that this time he would have to do everything properly. He couldn't risk losing anything more. It had to stop.

Bruce looked back over his shoulder before walking through the entrance. A doorman smiled and bowed his head as he opened the door for Bruce. Bruce nodded back firmly. The lobby he entered was large, but still quite smaller than the one in the Tower had been. Glancing around himself, Bruce found the elevators and he hummed lightly as he walked towards them. He was calm as he pushed the 'up' button for the elevator.

"Mr. Wayne!" a voice called behind him.

Turning around Bruce saw the familiar face of Lucius Fox, his CEO, smiling as he approached him. He walked up and stood next to Bruce, waiting for the elevator to come.

"Good morning, Lucius," Bruce greeted. "It's very convenient that the two of us would meet here, because there's something I need to talk with you about."

"I'm listening," Lucius said with a slight nod.

Bruce glanced around, but then the elevator door opened. Both himself and Lucius walked in and stood side by side. Bruce let out a sigh and looked at Lucius.

"I've had some troubles lately when it comes to heat. High heat, _burning_ actually," Bruce started, "and I'm just wondering if you have any materials that won't melt at high heat. It has to be strong, like the Kevlar."

Lucius had a smile on his face. He nodded his head at Bruce. "I'll go see what I can do, Mr. Wayne. How important is this?"

"Very," Bruce quickly answered back. His lips formed a wry smile.

Lucius smiled back. "I understand. Well then, I'll give you a call when I've got something."

Bruce nodded. "Thank you as always for your help, Lucius."

"I'm glad to be of service, Mr. Wayne," Lucius replied.

Bruce nodded politely and they spent the rest of the elevator ride in silence, waiting as the elevator doors opened and closed, opened and closed, on the busy morning. Some minutes later the elevator finally stopped at floor 68 and the doors opened. Bruce gestured for Lucius to go first.

They headed towards the conference room where the meeting was going to take place. As they entered, the room was already filled with senior executives. Lucius took his place at the end of the table and Bruce found an available seat on the left side. Lucius started the meeting.

"Good morning gentlemen. I'm glad to see that all of you could come to this meeting, even though this is not the location we were supposed to meet at," Lucius said. "However, now that we are all here I think we can start out meeting."

Bruce looked around himself and studied all the business people in the room. They all opened their suitcases, took out their documents files hurriedly and placing it in front of themselves before they sat still collected as always.

Lucius nodded and continued. "Originally we were supposed to discuss the project of the re-urbanization for Narrows, an important and ambitious project to help saving that unfortunate part of our city." Lucius cleared his throat. "However, our main issue to discuss today will be about the Wayne Tower and its condition as it is at this point."

Bruce furrowed his brow in curiosity and he was listening carefully as Lucius went on.

"As you are all aware of, five days ago the notorious criminal known as the Joker attacked the Wayne Tower with explosions, causing damaging destructions to the tower," Lucius told the executives. "At this moment construction builders are working to capacity to make the tower be just fine again. Still this will take some time, so meanwhile we will need a replacement building for our workers. If no one has anything against it, I'll suggest this building as a replacement. Any objections?"

Bruce exchanged glances with the others, but none of them said anything. Bruce didn't mind, there was nothing wrong with this building.

Lucius smiled contently. "Good. Then we can skip to our project for Narrows," he informed. All the people in the room nodded and the meeting went on.

* * *

Lori was standing in the school yard. She stared at the sunny morning sky, trying not to think about everything that had happened. She looked around herself, but she saw no one. Making her way towards the school entrance, she opened the doors and found her locker. Lori glanced at her watch and she found she was in hurry. She grabbed her Chemistry book and stuck it in her backpack.

"Hey Lori! Over here!"

Lori groaned and turning she spotted Madeline. She was standing on the other side of the hallway, motioning for her to come over.

"Later!" Lori shouted, waving a hasty goodbye, as she swept past her and hurried to class.

Lori entered her Chemistry class and she sat down in the back row. She put her backpack down beside her and she moved her attention to the windows, looking out at the scenery. In the corner of her eye she could see that the desks around her started to fill up as students poured into the room. Not feeling like talking she kept her head down.

"Lori?" a quiet voice whispered.

Lori glanced up and saw a small red head looking at her. "Oh hi, Sarah," Lori replied.

Sarah looked around herself and she leaned a bit towards Lori before she spoke. "Is everything alright?" she whispered, concern filing her voice.

She nodded. "Yes, why wouldn't I be?" she replied.

Sarah frowned, looking kind of surprised. "Well, I know things have been somewhat…" She shrugged, searching for the word. "Well, you know… Everyone in school heard about what happened and I also read about in the newspaper. And then you didn't show up at school."

Lori cleared her throat and looked at Sarah. "Well, I promise you I'm all fine now," she said with a smile. "Anyway, it shouldn't really be me you should worry about." Lori nodded her head.

Sarah turned and looked in the way Lori nodded, when she spotted all the empty places where students had used to sit. She swallowed hard, then looked back at Lori and whispered. "I miss them too," she said, her voice trembling. "I'm sure they all miss them. I don't believe how anyone can do such awful things to other human beings. It's so unfair."

"Life's always unfair," Mrs. Atkins, their Chemistry teacher, said as she closed the door behind herself. "But, it can be better if we care. Unfortunately not everyone do. "Now, Miss Sullivan and Miss Davis, may you please turn around and find your seats so we can start class?"

Sarah nodded and turned around to face to front of the classroom. Lori found her Chemistry book and opened it at the page their teacher told them to. She took out a paper and a pen, and staring out the window she already looked forward to go home.

By the time the bell rang, Lori had copied down three and a half pages of notes her teacher had written on the blackboard and she had also finished her homework. Hand aching and eyes burning she gathered up her things and stood.

"I hope to see you all at the memorial service in a moment," Mrs. Atkins said.

Lori nodded as she followed the others out the door.

The memorial was held in the school's gymnasium. To Lori it looked like all the students were present. It was the school's principal who was conducting the memorial. At the memorial he got up to speak.

"It's nice to see that so many could come here and attend this today. This is a time we would like to set aside to remember the life of the students who abruptly were taken away from us."

Lori could clearly see that this was difficult for him to say. He was sniveling.

"They were not only students. They were our friends, our schoolmates, our sons and daughters. They were teenagers." He spoke slowly.

"Now they will only be in our memories. They may be lost, but they will never be forgotten."

Suddenly the lights went off and the room was pitched into darkness. Lori frowned and most of the students around her were starting to whisper to each other. She looked around to see if she could see what was going on. Shivering lightly she sighed and sat back. Lori did not like the darkness and now all she could see was a sea of black. _Funny. People say _See you in darkness_, but you can't really see a thing, _Lori thought and smirked.

"Please everyone, sit still and be quiet!"

A raspy voice brought Lori out of her thoughts and realized that it was the principal's voice, Mr. Grant, who was calling. Silence fell back among the crowd and everyone sat down.

"There is nothing to worry about. It's probably just a blown fuse," he announced.

"OH, but it's more than the fuse that is blown here!"

The silence was shattered and everyone looked about them in confusion, each trying to find where the voice had come from. Suddenly there was a spotlight on the stage in front of them. Lori looked in that direction to see, but there was no one there.

Suddenly there was that kind of moment that something happened that no one at once understood. There were sounds of small explosions fired one after another, in a rapid speed. The room was still dark and Lori could see that there were the flames as a cause from the explosions. Still no one moved from their places. It was like they were all paralyzed in shock.

Suddenly there was another blast in the front and as Lori caught Mr. Grant's figure, the stage exploded, shattering instantly and forming a massive cloud of smoke and woodchips. As the people screamed and the students began running in panicked chaos, they were all trying to escape and get away.

* * *

Bruce was sitting in his chair, trying his best to listen to what Lucius and the others were discussing. Outside the clouds were dark, raining, and heavy drops of water were shooting down. He sighed and strangled a yawn. He had not got enough sleep and he was tired, but he had determined that he would not fall asleep during the meeting, though the subjects that were being discussed were not of his interest.

When the meeting ended and everyone left the room, Lucius went up to Bruce who was looking out of the window.

"I assume that the meeting didn't entertain you at all," Lucius said as he tapped Bruce's shoulder. "Although, it was your idea to have this meeting."

"Really?" Bruce snickered. "Anyway Lucius, you know very I'm not really into those kind of things."

"Yes, but I did notice that you were looking at the young Mr. Nashton when he presented his research for our city's Economic Development," Lucius pointed out. "He's very smart and hard-working, don't you think?"

Bruce nodded slightly. "Oh yes, I'm sure he's very effective and disciplined," he said in a confirming way. Suddenly he saw Edward Nashton walking past the conference room. He was in hurry.

"Please excuse me, Lucius, there's something I have to do."

Bruce bowed slightly and exited the room. Entering the hallway he began pacing. Soon he caught up with Edward and asked loudly, "Hey Edward, my friend, why the rush?"

Edward glared and he stopped walking. His eyes were observing Bruce deeply. "And you, why so friendly? Aren't you supposed to hate me, or something?"

Bruce's brows rose a bit. "Is there something wrong with me being friendly? And why should I hate you? After all, I am your boss."

"No, as I see it Mr. Fox is that. And well, Lori told me you didn't like that, ehm–" He coughed. "Anyway, I don't have time to argue with you right now and you shouldn't either."

"What do you mean?"

"There has been an explosion GC High School, it's all on the news." Edward rolled his eyes when he saw Bruce's confused face. "Lori's school, you know! And many people I know also work there or attend the school."

_What the hell? _Bruce was shocked. _Explosion? It has to be the Joker again. God, why can't he wait before spreading his terror again? And he chose the students again. That bastard!_

"You're right, I'm going down there. They're going to need help," Bruce said as he started walking down the hall again and he was going towards a mass of people standing in the corridor.

Edward looked at Bruce with a nervous face and wanted to follow after him. "I'm going with you."

"No Edward, stay here." Bruce told him, but Edward seemed to cautiously follow him instead. "Seriously Edward, it's much safer here and I don't want to risk the lives of my employees. Is that understood?"

Bruce turned his head back awaiting an answer from Edward.

"Yes sir. Mr. Wayne," said Edward, nodding. "Now if you'll excuse me I have to go talk with Mr. Fox."

Bruce watched as Edward walked down the opposite direction and where he came from. He was about to turn around when his cell phone started ringing.

"Master Wayne."

It was Alfred on the phone and he sounded concerned.

"Yes, Alfred, I'm here," he replied.

"I would just like to inform you that your Batsignal in the cave has been beeping constantly the whole bloody day."

"Yes, I know. Don't worry Alfred, I'm already onto it." Bruce grinned. _Typical Alfred_.

* * *

Lori had closed her eyes when the podium exploded. Opening her eyes the smoke burnt her eyes and she coughed heavily. She stood up from the chair, but was forced back down as she was hit by a wave of heat. Suddenly she heard a gunshot and she first thought that someone had shot her, because she felt a sudden shock go through her body. She then realized it was just fear. Her eyes shot up she saw a man lying on the ground. He was dead.

Lori tried to stand, but it felt like her legs had forgot how to walk or even stand. She screamed and closed her eyes. Suddenly she heard a hysterical laughter she had wished so many times that she would never hear again. Lifting her head up and opening her eyes, she spotted the Joker in the background of all the chaos, his scarred lips smiling as he let another gunshot off.

Her eyes were locked with his for a brief moment, but the contact broke when she suddenly felt that someone was tugging her hand and dragging her up from the chair. It was Sarah.

"Lori!" she hissed. "Are you insane or just being stupid for fun?"

Lori blinked at her in surprise. Sarah rolled her eyes.

"I guess both! Come on, we've got to get out of here and now!"

Then the situation hit Lori and she was filled with horror. Her head spinning, she quickly understood what Sarah was talking about and she didn't argue as she ran behind her. Suddenly there were fire and smoke raised into the air. Lori kept running in the direction she thought the door was, but when the smoke cleared Lori realized that she was running ahead of Sarah and she turned to look back.

Sarah was lying on the ground, her left knee was bleeding and so was her nose. There were traces of blood on her red hair too. She looked like she had been through hell and then spit back.

"Sarah!" Lori went over and bent down in front of her. "Sarah, can you hear me? Can you stand?"

Sarah let out a grunt of pain and looked up, her eyes filled with tears. "I don't think so," she answered. Her voice was low. "My leg hurts, really bad…"

Lori examined her leg and it was severely burned and she could definitely not move by her own. "Here, take my hand. You can lean on me," she suggested, reaching out her hand as she smiled sadly.

Sarah took it, but when Lori was pulling her up, her eyes widened and she screamed.

"Watch out…behind you!" sputtered Sarah.

Lori turned around just as a man with a clown mask on viciously pulled her up from the floor. She screamed wildly as the man twisted his arms around her. She was struggling hard to get out of the man's grip, but was stopped as the figure of the Joker was coming towards them. Frightened she struggled even more and kicking roughly, the clown suddenly lost his balance and they both fell to the ground. Lori quickly got on her feet and ran towards the exit door. She gave a glance back at Sarah who was still down.

"Get out, Lori. Just _go_!" Sarah cried out from behind her.

Lori felt tears falling down her cheeks when she ran as fast as she could towards the door. The Joker smiled and he did a movement with his hand, just as Lori reached the door and a huge man with a mask appeared in front of her, blocking her way. Scared Lori looked up at the man to find him leaning down close to her.

"Oh, hello there, missy. Ready to play?"

Lori squealed and jerked her body back and away from him. She felt like she was in a nightmare and she tried to run, but her feet were like glued to the floor. There were nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. This was not good. Not good at all.

* * *

**Please review ^^**


	31. Princes, Knights and Damsels in Distress

**AN1:**  
Long time, no update! Uhh, that was lame. No, actually it's true. I haven't updated this fanfic like forever. But here's the next chapter! Hope you'll like it!

**AN2:**  
Hey everyone, it's summer time! It's July 1st and I've been out of school a little over two weeks now and it feels so awesome, because now I can really focus on writing. I hope you guys are out of school too! At least I am **_free_**. :D But I'm still working a lot, you know, get money, get paid, so yeah. So I hope you all are out and have a nice summer vacation!

**Later!**

**And don't forget R&R! Thanks. xoxo**

* * *

**Chapter 31**

* * *

The man immediately caught Lori and grabbed her arms. The man lifted her up and brought her back to where the Joker was. Lori was starting to panic and all she could think of was to run and get the hell away from this place. She wanted to run away from all the pain, from all the suffering, but most of all she wanted to run away from _him_, the Clown Prince of Gotham.

The Joker slowly looked her up and down and smiled as he saw fear crossing her features.

"You…" the Joker said in an eerie tone. He then chuckled. "It seems like you have a habit of getting into trouble, because wherever I am, you seem to be there too."

"No, I just happen to be at the wrong places at the wrong time," Lori retorted. She was struggling to get out of the man's grip, but it didn't seem to work.

Sarah was sitting on the ground, terribly scared and praying for her own life, as her body was reaching a state of panic. Tears began forming in Sarah's eyes and soon they were streaming. The Joker gave her a glance and grinned menacingly. He crouched down in front of her and grabbed her face, forcing her to look at him.

"Oh sweetie, why are you crying? You should be smiling, because this is _fuuun_." He cackled again. Sarah said nothing, only crying even more. "Well, well…" Nodding his head to her, he suddenly pulled out a knife.

Sarah screamed as the Joker held her face and he then pressed the knife to her lips. "Now, just stay still. Shush, shush, my dearie," he whispered as he rubbed the other hand down her face. "I'm doing you a favor here. All your pain will go away… You won't be crying–"

He stopped speaking and smiled at her. Then in one fast movement, the Joker drew the knife across her face. Sarah screamed, but it died off as blood poured out of her mouth from the wound. Her face was soon covered with blood and she was a terrible mess.

"As I promised, now you will be smiling _forrrreeeever_!"

Lori screamed as he let Sarah's dead body fall to the ground and she was struggling more than ever. "You! You're a bastard! Sarah!" She gasped as her eyes were filled with tears.

The Joker shifted his eyes from Sarah to Lori and looked at her, his expression blank. He then grinned. "Now, you don't want to make me do the same to you, do you?" Lori looked down trying to avoid meeting his eyes. "I take that as a _no_."

Lori felt a stinging feeling that was running through her whole body. _Fear_. She hated being afraid and now she was more afraid than she had ever been before. In panic, she shoved the clown man holding her arms away from her as strong as she could. The man attempted to grab her once more, but Lori moved away. Only thinking of escaping, she shoved her hand toward the man's face.

The man was forced backwards and Lori seemed shocked. She was staring at her hand, then at the man. She couldn't believe it. She had actually_ hit _somebody. Though she didn't think it was hard, the man was still in shock. Looking at the man she wondered if he was hurt, but the situation she was in brought her back from her thoughts and she began running towards the nearest exit.

She was almost out when she felt someone grab her feet, pulling her to the ground.

"No!" Lori shouted out frightened. Whirling around, she quickly got up and stared at the Joker. "Stay away from me! Can't you just let me be?" Her voice was filled with terror as she screamed at him.

The Joker smiled at her as he grabbed her arms and put them behind her back. "You're important to me now. I need you to finish this game." His breath tickled her ear as he spoke and she choked at the smell. He spun her around and pulled her face up.

The Joker chuckled. "Ya know, you've been a bad girl. Very bad."

Lori frowned at him, not knowing what he was talking about. "What do you mean–"

"Shhh, don't speak," he said as he continued from where he had been cut off. "You see, last time we met I asked you if we were familiar with each other. And you lied." His tone was light, though menacing.

Lori was still confused as Joker's yellow eyes pierced into hers. Breathing in and out she was almost unable to answer him back. "I don't–"

The Joker stopped her from speaking and he looked a bit surprised. "Oh dearie, if it hadn't been for you, Batman would have been dead already. It's your entire _fault_."

A strange little squeak whimpered out of Lori's throat and her eyes grew wide in shock. "Because of me?"

"Don't act so surprised," he said as he flicked his tongue over his lips. "Let me help you memorize. How about a fairytale, hm? I'm sure you will like this one." She gave him no reply, but he went on.

"Once upon a time, on a very rainy day, there was a maiden who was out walking in the Castle gardens. Then she suddenly saw a knight who was followed by two other knights in shiny armors. That knight was not an ordinary knight, because he had been cursed by the king and was not allowed to be out in the daylight. The knight was heavily wounded by the knights and they left him to rot. The maiden saw what was happening and, though knowing it would mean trouble, helped the dark knight and saved his life. The Prince, who was the one who had sent out the other knights, got furious and ordered the maiden _dead_."

Lori gulped. She knew what he was talking about. It was about the day she had saved Batman from dying. "And how does this story end?" Lori asked, afraid for the answer.

The Joker grinned knowing that she had understood the point of his story-telling. "I don't know that yet," he said, "but I do have an idea." He then started laughing in his usual psychotic way. "Now, we better leave before we are interrupted again."

"No!" Lori cried as he began dragging her towards the exit doors.

Just as the Joker was about to kick the doors open, the doors surprisingly opened towards them. A smoke cloud whirled around and when it stopped, it revealed the worried face of Edward Nashton.

"Edward!" Lori exclaimed. She didn't know if she was happy or worried to see him here. He stared back at her, his expression bleak and his body trembling with pain and emotion as he saw who was holding her.

Edward bit his lip and shouted angrily. "Let her go!" He felt like his voice was failing him.

The Joker chuckled softly and replied back confidently. "Oh I will, if you leave. _Now_."

Edward's green eyes darkened and he repeated. "I said, let her go! Or else…"

"Or else what, shrimp?" The Joker smirked. "You think you can kill me? Well, think again. You're just a useless rat not knowing anything about this world. You've had your mommy tuck you in at night and you've been raised to be just like everyone else. You're nothing!"

"Edward, don't listen to him. You're more than that!" Lori shouted. "You're a–" The Joker jerked her closer to himself and put a hand over her mouth.

"Now that's enough. Please move and I will not hurt you, at least not so much…"

Edward looked back, but didn't move.

"Of course, you want to be a hero, right? Let's try something else then." The Joker giggled and put the hand away from Lori's mouth. Instead he pulled out his bloody knife and placed it against her throat. "Now Mr. Hero, move or let your damsel in distress die."

Lori whimpered as she felt the sharp cold blade against her skin. She looked at Edward, begging him to do something.

"If I see a drop of her blood fall, I promise that yours will run freely."

Lori's eyes widened in surprise as she heard the low threatening voice coming from above. The Joker hissed in irritation and looking up, he saw a black figure falling down from the ceiling. He landed easily and began to circle around the Joker and Lori.

The Joker smiled. "Ha ha he he hooo! Those are harsh words coming from a man who says he doesn't kill." He was mocking him.

Batman leered at him. "It doesn't matter. I'm not allowing you to hurt that girl."

The Joker sighed. "You know, I don't think you're in the right position to be coming with demands here," he said in a cackling tone. "And, I'm also the one holding the trophy in my hands."

"What are you going to do with her? What does she mean to you?"

The Joker smiled. "Well Batsy, that's none of your business. All you need to know is that she's coming with me even if you like it or not." The Joker began dragging Lori with him towards the doors again, but Batman went in front of them, trying to stop them from escaping.

"Arhh, you! You really don't get it, do you?" The Joker asked, looking annoyed.

"Obviously, you don't either," The Batman said. "Let her go."

"_Let her go_," the Joker aped and glared at the Batman. "I don't think so, Batsy. Now, my love, let's use the backdoor." He whispered softly into Lori's ear and jerked her with him.

"No, you can't do this with me!" She began struggling wildly against the Joker. This unexpected action made the Joker tumble and fall down.

Lori fell first and the Joker landed on top of her. She hurriedly managed to shove him away and got on her feet. Running she went over to Edward, wrapping her arms around him. She was shivering, tears falling, but she felt safe.

The Joker got up and noticed that Lori was not in his arms. The Joker glared at Batman. "This – this is your entire fault!" he said angrily. "Now I guess we have to do this the hard way!" From under his jacket, he pulled out a gun and armed it against Batman. The Batman managed to jump away just as the Joker fired off the bullets, destroying everything around. Running forward Batman growled, jumping towards the Joker and taking him to the ground.

Batman's fist collided with the Joker's face and the clown prince was thrown backwards, landing on his back on the wooden floor. The large group of his henchmen rushed towards to the Batman, pointing their guns and lead pipes at him. Then, they began shooting and attacking.

Batman dodged the bullets and threw five smoke bombs from his belt. The room was covered with smoke and Batman saw his chance. Lunging forward, Batman punched the first henchmen he came over and took him to the ground. As he threw more smoke bombs at the henchmen, blinding them from what was going on in the darkness, Batman ran forward and flew towards the clown. Attacking the Joker, he took him down and they both hit the ground hard.

The Joker and Batman quickly got back up on their feet and the fight began. Picking up a lead pipe from an unconscious henchman, the Joker swung it against Batman, who was at the same time reaching for the Joker. Batman got a grip around the Joker's left hand and managed to knock the lead pipe out of his right hand. Batman then threw his fist towards the Joker to punch him in the face, but surprisingly the clown managed to catch his fist and stop the attack.

The Joker chuckled darkly. "Stupid Bat! Don't you know you'll have to do better than that?" he yelled out as he kicked Batman in his stomach. "You know who I am! I am the Joker, the clown prince of crime, and you can't win this game! This is _my_ platform and you don't know anything!" The Joker punched Batman and yelled even more and louder.

The Batman growled back in anger. "Maybe I don't know everything, but one thing I _do_ know is that you can't win! And I, the Batman, will make sure of that!" he yelled and threw the Joker a hard punch to his face. The Joker was thrown across the hall and he rolled on the floor.

* * *

Meanwhile Lori and Edward were trying to find their way through the smoke and to the exit door. Just as they got to the exit and went through the door, both Lori's and Edward's eyes grew wide as they saw a group of henchmen blocking the rest of the way out. They were trapped.

"Come one." Edward grabbed Lori's hand and started back toward the hall.

When they got back they were only met by several more of the Joker's henchmen. They were all wearing clown masks and in their hands they had guns.

Edward stared forwards, then backwards, and tried to think of a way to get out. But for what was almost the first time in his life, he didn't know what to do. Groaning, he pushed her closer to himself and cradled his arms around her.

"We've got to get out of here," he whispered in her ear.

"How?" Lori whispered back.

"I… I don't know that, Lori," he said, admitting a truth he couldn't accept. "But I know we can't stay here, it's too dangerous and this Joker is dangerous. He has already killed so many people, he can't kill us too."

"But what about Batman? He saved our lives. Shouldn't we stay and see if he's alright?" Lori asked. She was worried about Bruce.

"Lori, if we stay here we'll probably get killed. There's no use in letting two more people get killed!" Edward said, almost shouting out the words.

"I can't just leave all this, and you don't understand, Edward!" She sobbed. "He said all this was my fault, and I can't just leave it all like this."

"No, Lori! Whatever that madman said to you, it is not true." Edward was trying to comfort her and help her way of seeing things. "You have done nothing wrong."

Lori sniffled. "And how do you know that? How can you be so sure?"

"Because I know you and I've known you for years. I know what kind of person you are and you've done nothing wrong." Edward was just as stubborn as she was.

"Thanks, but I'm still staying. I can't leave," Lori said in a shaky voice.

"Lori," Edward started as he reached for her hand.

"Please let go of me," she whispered as she yanked herself away from him. "You can leave, but I'm staying. I have to do something."

Biting his lip, Edward groaned and nodded. "Okay," he said silently. Before Lori could react, Edward suddenly kicked the gun out of one of the nearest henchmen's hand, knocking him down. Lori stared, not sure about what she had just seen was real or just was her imagination.

Edward smiled weakly. "I've taken some self-defense courses during this year, but I've never had any use of it until now," he said, tendering his fist. "I need some practice, though."

Lori managed to smile, but it soon disappeared. A large clown man came up behind Edward and took a solid grip around him. The clown man quickly disarmed Edward and was just going to punch him in the face, but Edward barely managed to dodge the attack and the clown man's fist hit the solid wall. Edward turned to see Lori standing a few meters away from him. The clown man came back up on his feet and he was now holding a knife in his hand. Edward maneuvered out of the way as the henchman drew the knife towards him, but the henchman got him and the knife smashed on the palm of his left hand. Blood was spurting from it and Edward felt the pain. He just stood there, staring at his hand and the henchman also seemed quite surprised that he had actually hit him.

Suddenly the henchman kicked him and Edward fell into unconsciousness. Lori screamed and she was shocked in horror and pure fright. Panicking she ran away from the henchman and disappeared into the smokescreen.


	32. Reality

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:  
**OMG, how long has it been since I last updated? Months at least! I know I said something about that when summer vacation started, I would get my butt in gear and really start writing and updating. Well - FAIL! I worked almost every day of my vacation and when I didn't work I was too tired to write. It's not really that I haven't written anything, because I have - it's just that I never take the time to _update_. Sorry. :(

Anyway, I believe this story is coming to an end soon. Don't know how soon, but it won't be long. :)

**Please read and review! I always appreciate it!**

* * *

**Chapter 31**

**

* * *

**

Lori tried to navigate her way through the smoke. She could not see anything and she was coughing heavily. Suddenly a voice calling her name reached her ears and feeling a bit relieved she tried to find the source of the voice. Trying to find her way through the smoke, she suddenly felt something hit her hard across the back of her head. Her head was spinning and she felt her feet slipping under her, only to be caught in two familiar arms.

Batman was standing still surrounded by smoke everywhere he looked. He waited for the smoke to clear and it was not before then that he was that the Joker had Lori again. The Joker was pointing a gun to her head.

"What did I say, Batsy?" The Joker smirked. "I _always_ win. Always. You did not even have a chance. You are pathetic, hear me? Pathetic! Just like Dent was_. _Now, don't even think about following me!" He laughed as he heard Batman snarl in rage. The Joker grabbed Lori as he backed his way out from the hall. Lori let out a scream as he pushed her forward, the gun still painfully pressed to her head.

Batman went after them. "The Joker!" he yelled out. "You're a sick clown! Let her go now or else I'll break every bone in your body!"

The Joker's manic laughter rang out, echoing from the walls. "That is so hilarious! You are calling me a clown, but you are the man who created himself to run around wearing a cape and a mask. And what more important is – you created me. Now, as I said: Don't follow us," The Joker as he backed towards the exit door.

Suddenly two of his henchmen came running through the door, carrying guns with them, and they started aiming at Batman. The Joker smiled at Batman before he and Lori exited the building.

As they got outside, the Joker kept pushing her towards a black van parked just a few yards away. There was a masked man sitting at the driver's seat, waiting for them. Lori grunted as she struggled to get free from his grip. The Joker laughed as he shoved her backwards into the van and forced her to sit down. He wrapped tape around her wrists and over her mouth.

"Comfortable?" He asked and laughed manically once again. Lori glared at him and if her mouth hadn't been covered, she would have been swearing like a sailor.

Smirking his hands went up to her eyes and he blindfolded her. Blackness swept to her vision and as she heard the metallic clang of the door being slammed shut, she wondered distantly if she was going to die. Suddenly something hard hit her on the back of her head and she fell into unconsciousness.

* * *

Meanwhile Batman was fighting the henchmen. He had taken down most of them, but there were still two aiming at him. Batman dodged the bullets one of the clowns shot at him, and jumped forward at the clown. The clown leaped back, but Batman caught his arms and spun him around. Letting go of him, the clown flew into the burning remaining of the podium. The clown let out an agonizing cry as he stood up, his body in flames, and he held his hands to his burning mask. The flesh blazed like meat searing on an open fire. Falling to the floor the man wriggled in pain.

Batman stared as he saw the man being burned alive, but as he turned he was met by another clown coming towards him with a clenched fist. Batman ducked, only to return the punch by using a Batarang. A cut appeared over the mask the man was wearing and blood poured through the gaps. The clown yelled as his face bled and he reached for his gun, pointing it at Batman. The bullet barely missed and Batman grabbed the gun, using it to hit the clown to the head once more. As he did, the clown suddenly pulled out a pocketknife and thrust it into the Dark Knight's leg. Batman gasped before he pulled it out. Looking up he saw that the clown had went unconscious from all the pain and had fallen to the ground.

Batman groaned, trying desperately to catch his breath. Just as he thought he had finished fighting the clowns, he saw gunshots coming from behind him. Turning around he watched, his eyes horrified, as he saw a henchman approaching Edward's unmoving body.

_Not the kid_, he thought. _Not another kid_.

"Edward!" He called out, only to hear the henchman's disgusting laughter. Charging forward, Batman jumped over Edward's body and hitting the clown. His fist connected with the man's jaw, followed by a kick, causing the man to fly backwards and into unconsciousness.

Batman ran back to Edward's side. Blood was running from the knife wound on Edward's left hand. Batman ripped up a piece of clothing from Edward's white shirt and tied it tightly around the wound.

"Edward! Edward, wake up!" Batman begged Edward, pressing his gloved hand down on the wound. "Come on, wake up kid."

Edward slowly awoke as he felt someone touching his hand and it hurt.

"Lori?" Edward mumbled.

"Shh," Batman murmured.

Opening his eyes wider, Edward saw it was Batman standing over him. "What the hell is going on?" He asked groggily. _A dream. This had to be a dream._ "Lori–"

"You've been stabbed. You'll live, but you still need medical help," Batman explained.

"Lori?" Edward called.

"They took her." Batman's voice was cold.

"_What_?" Edward exclaimed as he tried to get up on his feet. "This can't be happening. This doesn't happen in real life," he muttered to himself.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but this is the reality. And it has been like this for years," Batman said, maintaining icy calm, though clearly irritated of Edward's behavior.

Edward looked to his left then to his right, when he suddenly saw a dark figure coming through the smoke behind Batman. Letting out a gasp, he got Batman's attention. Batman turned around just in time to avoid the knife flying through the smoke. Edward watched as Batman lunged into the smoke and in the next seconds he heard the sound of being punched. In the opposite part of the hall, Edward heard gunshots coming closer and he looked after Batman.

"Edward!" Batman called, as he came running out of the smoke. "The Joker's henchmen have filled the whole place with explosives! It's time to leave!" Grabbing Edward around his waist, Batman used his grappling gun and fired towards the roof. The hook shattered a glass window and attached itself on the roof. Quickly Batman pulled Edward and himself up from the hall and into the fresh air.

Shooting the grappling gun once more, they swung across the street and over to another building until he got to his Batmobile. Batman let go of Edward and Edward groaned. His hand was still bleeding and the clothing was no longer white, but blood red. Opening up the car, Batman turned on the transmitter on the dashboard.

"Commissioner Gordon?" He said cautiously, hoping that he would hear him.

"Batman? What is it?" Gordon called sounding irritated. "What the hell happened in the school hall?"

"It was the Joker, _again_. He got away, but not without doing what he came for. The building is going to explode." Batman's voice was calm. "You need to secure the area so that no one will get hurt."

"Alright, I'm already on it!" Gordon said.

"Good luck, Commissioner."

Batman ended the transmission and glanced back at Edward. "You have to go the hospital before you bleed to death. You think you can make it from here?"

Edward stared without saying anything as Batman swept into the driver's seat. He was just about the drive away, when Edward opened the door on the other side.

"What the hell are you doing?" Batman shouted seething.

"I want to go with you," Edward demanded.

"Hell no, you're not!" Batman said in a warning tone.

"Listen! It's clearly that you're going after the Joker and Lori. I can't just let you go there alone!" Edward protested.

"_You_ have to stay here where it is safe. I'll bring Lori back, don't you worry," he said reassuringly.

Edward then flushed and looked away. "Look – I know I won't be much of help, but I want to come with you to wherever you're going."

He waited for Batman to say 'no' and that it was too dangerous for him. After a long pause, Batman looked him in the eyes. "Very well."

Edward felt relieved that he was allowed to come and he slid into the passenger seat and buckled up. The Batmobile quickly gained speed and drove down the street, leaving a scene of burning horror behind.


	33. Heroes VS Villains

**Ba da ba da ba da Batman!****  
**My friend Ingrid made me a Batman figure in fimo. It's awesome and it gave me the writing spirit back! YAY for FIMO!

**Please R&R! :)**

* * *

**Chapter 33**

* * *

Batman and Edward had been driving for almost an hour without any end in sight. Batman was driving and Edward was sitting on his side. Batman was beginning to worry about Edward. He wasn't doing anything. Not fidgeting, not moving. It was like he had turned numb.

Batman gazed over at him and sighed heavily. "We're going to find her, Edward."

Edward didn't look at Batman. "How? How are we going to find her? We've got nothing! She's gone."

"Edward..." Batman began, trying to figure out what to say. He didn't really know Edward that well and he didn't know what to say to comfort him and make him feel better. "If you want the best for Lori, then you don't say things like that. It only makes the situation more badly than it already is." He paused. "Listen, I managed to get a hold of the tape from the surveillance camera outside of the school. She was taken away in a black van–"

"Don't you see it?" Edward exclaimed, cutting him off. "She is gone and we have no leads except of that van, and that doesn't really help. There must be thousands of black vans in Gotham city."

"If we are lucky, the van may be an unimportant detail to us," the Batman said. "We can just track her down."

"And how the _hell_ are we supposed to do that?" Edward asked, throwing his arms out in frustration. "It will take days!"

"Not if we use the tracking device I put on her."

"What? When?"

"I've encountered that girl a few times before, but usually in the same situations, in trouble and alone. I thought she was that type of person who attracts trouble and unwanted business, therefore I secretly put it on her." The Batman gave Edward a quick glance. "It appears that I was right."

Edward glared back. "Why have been driving around for all this time when we just could've tracked her down from the beginning?" Edward asked, sounding irritated.

"Because we have to get within a couple of miles before we can track the signal, that's why we have been driving around," the Batman explained to Edward. Edward was looking at his masked ally and suddenly something which looked like a smile crossed his face.

"Looks like we're lucky," The Batman exclaimed, pointing at the screen on the dashboard. A yellow blinking dot suddenly came up on the screen. The dot appeared to be in the Northwestern part of Gotham City.

"Alright then, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Edward yelled.

Batman nodded and sped up faster towards the target. When they reached their destination, they got out the Batmobile. As they saw the building in front of them they got shocked. The building was the reconstruction of the Gotham General Hospital, the hospital that the Joker had blown up several months ago. The reconstructed hospital was due to be reopened in a week.

Batman motioned towards Edward to do as he did. They bent down behind a pile of building materials to take cover.

"What are we waiting for?" Edward whispered as he was hiding. He looked at the building in front of him, his lips forming a frown. "So Mr. Hero, what's the plan?"

Batman glared at the comment, but shook it off. "There is no plan, but those guys took Lori inside that building. And we, Edward, have to get her out of there. Who knows what they might do to her."

"It would be smart to have a plan for a situation like this," Edward said, crossing his arms. "We can't just burst in and expect that the madmen inside won't see us."

Ignoring the comments, Batman looked up and saw that there were two men at the door. He looked at the clothing the men were wearing and saw that they had masks. "Joker's henchmen," he muttered.

"Oh, that's great!" Edward kept complaining about their weak position and Batman heard him mumbling something about the odds being below zero for their survival.

"Will you shut up and listen? I've already told you that we will get to her and save her," Batman growled, grabbing hold of his shoulders. Edward stopped rambling and glared up at him. "If you want to be of use, you can shut up and do exactly as I say. Ok?"

Edward stared at him. Before he got to ask another question, Batman brushed past him and exposed himself. The masked men didn't seem to be prepared for a sneak attack, because they handled their guns unprofessionally when they brought them up. One of the henchmen opened fire, but the other one's gun had locked up and it wouldn't fire. Dodging most the bullets, Batman threw himself towards the one who was defenseless. Batman punched the man with his right arm and knocked him out unconsciously. Swirling around, he faced the other henchman. Before the henchman could fire his gun, Batman quickly threw a Batarang at him. The Batarang struck the man hard and he went down unconscious.

"Edward, we've got to go," Batman called and he saw Edward's head leaping up from the hiding place where he was crouching.

Edward paced up to him. His face turned pale as a ghost when he saw the unconscious men lying on the ground, but he nodded his head in agreement. "Right. Let's save Lori."

"Take this," Batman said, thrusting a small green ball to Edward.

Edward studied it with curiosity. "What is it?" He asked. "It looks like an oversized pea."

"It's an acid bomb," Batman explained. "Smash it to the ground and it lets out a cloud of poisonous smoke. It's good for escaping. Throw it on a person and the acid will burn the skin. Try to avoid the last alternative."

"Alright," Edward said anxiously.

* * *

Lori woke up from an unconscious state. She breathed heavily. She lifted her head and as she tried to move her legs, she realized she was tied to a chair. Lori blinked once and realized that the blindfold had been removed. The room was dark, but there was a weak light coming from a light bulb swaying from the roof. The room was cold and bare, and Lori shivered, trying to hold back the fear and the feeling of desperation. She felt hopeless and was afraid of what kind of terror she could expect in the near future.

Lori was not sure what day it was, nor if it was day or night. _How long have I been out?_

"Hello?" She anxiously called out, her voice rough and dry. "Is there anyone there?" Her voice raised to nearly screaming.

"Quiet!" Someone with a deep gruff voice yelled from behind her. Lori shut her mouth and tried to turn her head to see who it was, but she was not able to see the man. Suddenly she felt that the chair lost its balance as she fell to the floor, realizing that she had been hit. She felt blood trickling down her cheek. "Be quiet or else I might hurt your petite face, again." Lori lied bounded on the cold floor, writhing and squirming. A hand came up to her face from behind and she flinched instantly, but the hand held her tight. She felt a cold blade put to her throat and it was like she skipped a heartbeat.

"I wouldn't have done that if I were you," a voice calmly said. The Joker's sinister smile appeared from the shadows as he opened the door.

The man immediately let go of Lori and the knife fell to the floor as he quickly moved away from her and forward. Lori could now see that he was wearing a mask. "She was making hell a lot of noise. She could have made people outside curious about what's going on here. You told me to keep her quiet, but she wouldn't…" He was obviously frightened.

"Shut up," the Joker yelled, cutting him off. His voice was deep and it made Lori shiver. "If I ever catch you threatening her again, it will be your skin hanging from the walls." The Joker stepped closer to his henchman and gave him an icy cold glance.

"Yes, I'm sorry, Boss," the man grunted as he tried to get away from the Joker. The Joker raised his hand and pointed behind his back.

"Get out _now_!" The Joker sneered at him.

Without hesitating the masked man hurried out of the room, afraid of that he would change his mind to a more gruesome way of punishment. The Joker's eyes slowly tracked down to Lori and his eyes softened slightly. Looking at the floor, he rolled his eyes as he spotted the knife his henchman had used.

"Can you believe that? I can't rely on anyone these days, you got to do everything yourself…" He breathed out as he picked up the knife. Grabbing her shoulders he pulled her up from the floor, putting her back into sitting position. He smiled at her and his eyes bore into her with a frightening intensity. Lori met his gaze with distrust.

"Where am I?" Lori asked trying to look like she wasn't scared.

"You know, that doesn't really matter right now," he said, as he played with the knife in his hands. "What _does_ matter is that you are here. You are my insurance for that the Batman will come, and when he does, he will die." He cackled as he said the last word a bit slower than the others.

"You're sick," Lori said, using the same slow speed as he just had.

"Oh sweetie, you're hurting my feelings," the Joker said sounding hurt. "But I'm not that sick, I'm just a human being."

"Oh yeah, that explains everything…" Lori murmured.

"It should," the Joker said, his voice echoing. "People are sick, not only sick from diseases, but sick in mind. They are all going crazy, but not crazy like I. They are going crazy for a vigilante who they believe is their _hero,_ but also a murderer." He snorted. "Funny, the word hero. There is no such thing as a hero. People can believe and muster whatever they want to believe, but in the end there is no such thing. There are people that save a life, but don't you think those people are just as capable of being a villain?"

Lori raised her voice in protest. "But Batman is a true hero! He saves people and he does his best to protect Gotham from people like you!"

The Joker smiled. "So you look at me like the villain? How do you know that I don't look at myself like a hero?" The Joker shot back, crossing his arms and looking back at Lori.

Lori tilted her to head to the side, being sort of shocked. She had never seen him so serious before. "I don't really care about what your own conscience says, but from where I see it you do bad things to people and Batman does good things."

"You don't really get my point, do you?" The Joker asked, laughing as if he was surprised that she didn't understand what he was talking about. "_Bad_ things happen in life, they always have and always will happen. There is no good or evil, just two different sides with different opinions." With that he turned and walked towards the door. He turned his head back gazing at her.

"When Batman comes, and I know he is, then the fun will begin. Our game will begin. And you should be excited, thrilled, overwhelmed, as you are the main piece of the game," the Joker said, his grin wider than ever. "So be nice, my love, and I won't hurt you."

Lori stared at him wide eyed. _He's already going to hurt, so what's the point?_ She didn't care about what he did to her. She screamed and howled for help, but there was no use. She was trapped there.

* * *

**Please review!**


	34. Rescue

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**  
This story is finished soon. Just a few more chapters to go. Woosh, I've been writing on this for nearly 2 years I think.. o.O  
And guess what? Ingrid is making me _The Joker_ in FIMO! Fimo powns everything..

**Read and Review!**

* * *

**Chapter 34**

* * *

Batman grabbed the doorknob and tried to open it, but it was locked so he prepared himself to smash it down. Edward narrowed his eyes as Batman kicked the door once. He hit it again the door went down.

"I need you to follow me closely and keep your voice low," Batman said, as he stepped through the doors and entered a darkened hallway.

"They'll probably know we're coming anyway," Edward said smirking and pointed back at the smashed door. "Batman." Edward grabbed the vigilante's arm and stopped him from walking. "What if we're too late?"

Batman stared at Edward for a moment. He understood how Edward was feeling and he remembered feeling the same kind of pain, from the time when Rachel was kidnapped by the Joker. And Batman felt the same for Lori. "It's not too late, Edward," Batman said. "You have to believe me. It's not too late."

Edward nodded briefly, and then continued to follow after Batman down the hall. They walked up to an information board where a floor plan of the whole hospital was pasted on the wall, showing where the different departments and rooms were.

Edward examined it. "Where do you think she is?"

"There," Batman said in a flat tone, pointing his finger at the department of Psychiatric Rehabilitation. "She's got to be there, I'm positive."

Edward nodded as Batman walked towards a door. Edward followed him through the door and they entered another hallway.

The hallway was dark. There were no lights coming from doors or the windows, and not even a sound was heard from the inside or from the outside. They walked in silence for a while until they reached the psychiatric unit.

Batman walked through the doors first to check if it was okay. Coming back he ordered Edward to follow him. Edward looked to his left to see that the door to the breakroom was open and a ray of light shone through them. He peered into the darkness and noticed two figures with masks watching him and Batman.

"Come on, move!" Batman cried, pulling Edward with him down the hall.

"They saw us! They were Joker's henchmen too, weren't they?" Edward asked as they ran down the hall.

"Just keep walking!" Batman growled. He knew they didn't have time to fight them.

Edward suddenly thought he heard a sound in room 84, but he let the thought slip away as his focus was more on Lori and the Joker. He gazed at Batman just in time to see that he suddenly halted. Edward also stopped and looked over his shoulder to see a masked man standing in the other end of the hallway. In his hand he held a leash connected to a Rottweiler. He was wearing the Dopey mask.

"_Bingo_," Dopey said, grinning under his mask. "Get them."

The Rottweiler barked like a madman and quickly tore itself from the leash like the leash was just boiled spaghetti. The dog charged after Edward, growling and snapping its teeth.

"Let's go, let's go!" Batman yelled.

Edward quickly whirled around as the dog chased after him. The dog jumped on Edward's back, forcing him down to the ground. Edward fell, hard, fast and his body slammed to the cold marble floor. He felt like smashed potatoes. The pain was agonizing, feeling it in his back and shoulders. Edward finally landed on his back and dog upon him, snapping its sharp teeth.

"Help me, Batman!" Edward yelled, struggling to keep the dog's teeth away from his face. The dog pushed itself down towards his body and Edward cried out in pain as the dog scratched his shoulder with its teeth.

Batman came running towards Edward and he kicked the satanic dog in its side. The dog barked in pain and fell of Edward. Helping Edward on his feet, they began running again with Dopey chasing after them. Pushing the dog to its feet, the dog limped after Dopey. They reached the staircase leading to the second floor of the psychiatric unit.

"This way!"

Edward followed the dark knight, his whole body pounding in pain. When they got up, they ran into a storage room. Batman slammed the fire door shut behind them to keep Dopey and the dog behind. Edward leaned towards the wall, out of breath and dizzy because of the pain.

"Dogs," Edward growled, "I hate dogs."

"Are you alright?" Batman shouted.

"I'm fine," Edward said. "Now what?"

"We'll find Lori. She wasn't on the first floor, I checked, so she has to be here somewhere!" Batman said examining his surroundings.

"How do we get out of this room?" Edward said.

Batman looked for another way out of the room, but couldn't find a way. Seeing a large glass window at one side of the room, he went over and smashed the glass using his fist.

"Oh, heck no!" Edward exclaimed when he realized what Batman had in mind. "I'm not climbing out that window and back inside through a different window. It won't happen."

"I'll go first and then you have to go right behind me!" Batman yelled. "That is, if you don't want to stay here with your four-legged friend."

Edward groaned and watched as Batman went through the window. He heard the sound of glass cracking. Edward slowly climbed through the broken window. It was raining outside and he was trembling. Within a few seconds, he jumped down into the new darkened room and stumbled on his knees.

Batman was already on the move and Edward followed him out into another hallway. In the distance of the dark hallway, Edward suddenly heard someone groaning. He waited and listening again.

"Lori–"

Batman stopped Edward from talking, clasping a hand over his mouth. "Shhh!" He hissed. They waited a few seconds to see if someone had heard them. No one came. Edward heard the voice again, this time more intense.

"Follow me," Batman said. "Do you still have the acid bomb?"

Edward nodded.

"Then you better have a tightened grip around it now."

Edward clutched the small ball as they slowly made their way through the hallway. As the two narrowed their way through the darkness, there was a dull light coming from a room in the end of hallway. They both cautiously moved towards the light, and the Batman looked around himself every now and then as if someone was watching them. When they got to the door Batman slowly opened it. As the door opened, Edward could make out Lori in the middle of the weak light, a single bulb hanging above her as she sat bounded to a chair, and her mouth was covered with duck tape.

* * *

"Lori!" Edward cried. He ran over to her.

"Edward, wait!" Batman howled.

Suddenly Edward was knocked from his feet by a chair tossed at him. Gasping for breath, Edward fell on his stomach. He pushed himself to his knees by his trembling arms and saw a masked man standing in front of him. Looking back at Lori, he noticed the Joker sitting behind Lori.

The Joker lowered his head laying it in her lap. He was wearing his purple jacket and had that damn sickening smile on his face.

"Oh, shrimpie, you really ought not to be a hero," the Joker said to Edward, laughing.

"Let her go," Edward said raggedly.

"But we've only just begun!" The Joker laughed.

Edward then suddenly felt that someone was behind him and turned to see Dopey standing near. He cackled and pulled Edward to his feet before violently pushing him across the room. Edward's body slammed into the wall and he once again fell to the floor. Screaming in pain, Edward felt like his body was going numb.

"Hey!" A voice growled.

Dopey turned and Batman greeted him with a forceful hit to the face. Dopey let out an agonizing cry and lifted his hands to his face. Hitting him once more, the clown fell to the floor.

"No!" The Joker yelled. Getting on his feet, he let go of Lori, and charged at Batman.

"Edward, get up!" Batman yelled.

Edward moaned, struggling to get on his feet just in time to see the Joker push the Batman out in the hallway as he weighed nothing. Putting a hand around Batman's throat, the Joker squeezed tightly.

"Stupid Batsy-watsy! Can't you learn how to enjoy a good game?" he said, his voice raspy.

Batman's breathing became harsher as he pushed the Joker away from him and leapt to his feet. The Joker pulled out a knife, wildly trying to stab Batman wherever he could. The Batman grabbed the Joker by his collar and gave him a knock to the head. The Joker quickly got on his feet and swirled around. Grinning at Batman, he made sudden change in his moves and charged towards Edward, who had just untied Lori from the chair. The Joker violently pushed Edward away, shoving him hard to the ground.

"Get up," the Joker said fiercely and grabbed the collar of Lori's jacket, pulling her up from the chair.

"Let's go out for a walk, shall we?" The Joker jeered and pulled Lori with him towards the exit door. From the inside of his jacket, he pulled out an object which looked like the bomb Edward had been given. Grinning, he smashed it to the floor and instantly the room was filled with smoke.

Batman coughed heavily and he heard Edward coughing too. When the smoke settled he noticed Edward and Dopey's unconscious body. The Joker stood in the doorway holding Lori.

"So far one to one, I'm impressed, Batsy-watsy! This round ends with a short break before the final, but I'll keep the trophy," the Joker said, imitating the voice of a sport commentator.

Lori was trying to wriggle free and she got lucky, achieving enough time to get rid of the duck tape covering her mouth.

"No!" Lori frantically cried once she could speak. "It's a trap, Batman! It's a–"

Lori was cut from talking as the door slammed shut between her and the Batman and Edward. Batman quickly ran over to the door, but it was locked. Looking around, it seemed like the room was a storage room with no windows. Edward fell to his knees and sat beside of Dopey's body and he realized what was going on. Batman also knew he had to admit a fact he didn't want to, and realized Lori had been right. They were trapped.

* * *

"I knew it would be easy to lure you into my trap!" The Joker's jeering voice suddenly rang from the intercom system. They heard him laugh. "It seems like the reopening date for this hospital will have to be postponed. Looks like there is an infestation, a bat infestation, and the problem must be exterminated, along with a rat."

"The Joker, your sick plan won't work" Batman growled.

"_Plan_? I never have a plan. I just do things, remember?" The Joker said sarcastically. "Now listen carefully, just so you know you can't escape – there are three bombs put around in this building and soon they will explode. Haha, the best way to get rid of a bat infestation is to get rid of everything. With a BANG!" A sick and overjoyed laughter was heard through the intercom. "I would love to stay and watch the show, but I have so much to do and so little time. Come on, Lori girl, let's go. Ta–Ta!"

The intercom went off and the laughter was replaced with silence. Batman looked around, desperately trying to find an escape route. The only way out was the barred door and in vain, he ran over to it trying to burst it open.

"What are we going to do?" Edward asked.

"I don't know," Batman said shrugging.

Edward began walking around in circles, having his attention on the acid bomb. Suddenly he looked at Batman. "What kind of acid is it?"

"What?" Batman asked, confused.

"I mean, what kind of acid is in this bomb?" Edward asked again.

"It's sulfuric mixed with water. Why?"

"I think I've got it!" Edward exclaimed. Seeing Batman staring at him in confusion, he grinned. "Sulfuric acid eats through wood. With the certain amount, it will eat our way out of here."

"That's a good idea," Batman said. "Only one problem: the walls are marble."

Edward shook his head. "Not everything!" He stomped with his left feet, pointing to the floor. "This floor looks like marble, but it is actually wood. I felt the difference when I fell to the ground. Trust me." Edward smiled.

"Do you have more of those bombs?" He asked Batman.

Batman nodded. "Yes, but using many at the same time is not recommended."

"Well, that's a risk we have to take," Edward said. Batman handed him the bombs.

They both went over to the other side of the room. Counting to three, Edward threw the first bomb on the floor. The floor instantly started bubbling like boiling water. He threw the rest and waited for the acid to stop eating.

Walking over, the bubbling had stopped and there was a hole big enough for both of them to get through.

"I'll go first," Batman said while jumping through it.

Edward jumped through like Batman. Batman waited for Edward to get through, and the both started running down the hallway, Batman leading the right way. They got to a backdoor and Batman kicked it open. Fleeing down to the Batmobile, Batman slid into the driver seat and Edward in the passenger's seat

They had just driven away when the hospital exploded in a fire of magnificent red, orange and yellow flames, and the building collapsed.

The Batmobile stopped after driving a few miles away. "Edward," Batman whispered. "You have to go to the hospital and call Commissioner Gordon. I'll go after the Joker."

Edward nodded and stepped out of the vehicle. He watched as the Batmobile gained speed and drove away, and with curiosity he glanced at the last acid bomb he had spared.

* * *

**Please review!**


	35. The Dark Knight Returns

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**  
This is sort of the final chapter, the same time it is not the final. I'm planning to publish the last chapters later, but this chapter is where the final incidents take place.  
I hope you all like it.

And btw, I'm kind of laughing at the chapter title, but it really fits to the content! xD

**Please read and review!**

* * *

**Chapter 35**

* * *

The Joker had seen the hospital explode. He had been watching from a tall building a few miles away from the scene, laughing maniacally when the explosion had lightened up the dark city, believing that the Batman and his friend had been killed.

In anger he threw his knife away, seeing that they had got away. He was silent, his laughter dead. Lori stared at him, glad to see that his plan had failed.

"Aah, gosh, Boss," one of henchmen said as he scratched the back of his head. "What are we going to do now? We're out of tricks"

Joker turned to face his henchman, his tongue flicking. He walked towards him, making him back against the edge. "Listen," the Joker whispered. "Never underestimate me and never ever suggest that the game is over when I am present." With that the Joker with a light hand shoved his henchman over the edge, sending him to his death. There was an echoing scream coming from his henchman as he fell.

"You have a brutal way of dismissing your employees," a deep voice said in a flat tone from behind the Joker.

The Joker turned to see the Batman and laughed. "And I thought you didn't have any sense of humor!" He exclaimed. A sarcastic grin crossed Batman's face. "Here's a funny treat for you! Get him!"

Three of his henchmen charged on the caped crusader, trying to surround him. Batman stood in the middle of the three clowns and got in a defensive position. Waiting, he allowed them to make the first move. When they did, the three clowns desperately tried to strike wildly towards the Batman, hoping that one of them would do something right and viciously take the hero down.

The hope they had had quickly disappeared, as Batman ducked away from the attacks and gave each one of them a punch to their heads. One of the clowns wanted a rematch and pulled up a machine gun, firing it at Batman. Batman dodged the bullets and gave him a knock to the head. Losing their consciousness, they all went down.

"You should really consider changing your men," Batman leered back at the Joker. "Where do you find them?"

"At the same place where you found yourself – at the circus," the Joker replied as he let out his unbearable laughter at his own joke.

"Laugh while you can because you're going back to the circus," Batman retorted. "Try to find anything to laugh of when you're rotting in a cell in a straitjacket!"

"Is it okay if we make a quick stop at the bank first? I'm sure they will enjoy a good laughter," the Joker amusingly said to Batman. "When I think about it, I have a lot of unfinished business with the bank." He grabbed Lori and they started to walk fast, heading for the elevator.

"Let go of me!" Lori yelled as she tried to not stumble when walking so fast. Ignoring her, the Joker kept walking. She yelled again to get the Joker's attention. Getting really irritated by her yelling he pulled out a knife and put it to her neck.

"Shut up," he said as he leaned towards her. "Or else I'll make sure you won't speak a word ever again."

Suddenly the Joker's knife flew out of his hand as a Batarang knocked it away. The Joker hissed as he turned his head to see that Batman was still chasing after them. The Batman started walking towards them.

Smirking, the Joker turned Lori over and put her up in front. He then pulled out a gun and pointed it to Lori's head.

"Why did I suddenly get the feeling of déjà vu?" Lori laughed mockingly, remembering the Joker doing the same in the school hall. "Anyway, he won't shoot me, because he won't sacrifice his only escape from this hellhole."

"Didn't I tell you to shut it? You don't know anything about this!" the Joker said while glaring at the Batman.

"Let her go, Joker. You have already bothered her enough."

"Oh, but I haven't reached my goal yet. If you just take off your mask and I will let her go. It's your choice – your true identity or this girl's life." The Joker cackled as he saw the Dark Knight clenching his fists. "Oh, I know you too well! You don't want to stop being your masked vigilante, but you can't sacrifice her. You can't sacrifice another _Rachel_."

The Joker laughed maniacally as he kept on insulting the Caped Crusader and he did not notice Edward coming out from the elevator.

"Hey, Paint-face!" Edward shouted and the Joker instantly stopped laughing. "Let my friend go!"

Edward threw the acid bomb and it exploded as it the Clown Prince's purple coat. Seeing that his clothing was being torn to pieces by acid, he flinched, letting go of Lori. Lori quickly leapt away the clown and his grip.

"I hope it burns, you freak!" Edward yelled.

"You bastard!" The Joker growled, looked up at Edward, and he suddenly pointing his gun at him.

"Damn!" Edward exclaimed as tried to back away from the aimed gun.

The Joker was about to pull the trigger, when the Batman quickly kicked it out of his hands, making it fly to the other side of the room. With two sharp kicks, he put the Joker flat on the ground. Wasting no time, the Joker got on his feet to look into Batman's dark eyes. The Joker responded the punches with his own hits, and they both fell to the ground and started rolling on top of each other.

Suddenly the Joker had taken the control and was on top of Batman, using his hands to hold him down. "Oh Batsy, I thought you were a night creature. It's time to go back to bed!" He pulled out a small bottle filled with a dangerous and deadly liquid.

* * *

The Joker was just about to pour the liquid at Batman, when suddenly something hard hit the back of his head and the Joker passed out. Pushing the Joker away from himself, the Batman saw the two figures of Edward and Lori. Edward was holding a machine gun and Batman realized he had hit the Joker with the gun.

"Look who is laughing now," Lori said.

"He must learn to watch his back. We've got a few tricks of our own, you know," Edward said, smiling triumphantly.

"Couldn't agree more," Lori said.

The Batman got on his feet. "Are you all right?"

"Yes, we're fine," Edward said, though it was not really true. "I hope you're not _that_ mad about me not following your orders."

Batman smirked. "Oh no, not at all."

Lori looked Batman into his eyes and she smiled as it was Bruce's eyes, not Batman's, which met her gaze. "I can't describe how much you have done for me. I must be such a bother, having you follow after me all over Gotham. Thanks," Lori said.

"You're welcome," Batman said. "And you were not a bother, none of you were. In fact you have helped me capture one of Gotham's most wanted criminals." He looked back at the Joker, who was groaning, and they realized he would regain his consciousness.

"We should call the police," the Batman indicated as he tied up the Joker.

"I don't think that necessary," Edward said as he looked out from one of the windows. Beneath them a group of police cars had gathered and they could hear the sound of the sirens.

Batman nodded. "The police will take him away. You two must stay here and tell them what has happened. I must leave," Batman said calmly.

Lori stared in confusion. "What? No! No, you can't leave!" She said and waved her arms. "If you stay here when the police comes they will understand. They will all understand that you are not a bad person. You may have done some bad things, but that does not naturally turn you into a bad person."

"Yes, listen to her! Lori's got a point!" Edward said, backing up Lori. "Everything you have done was necessary so that this battle of crime could be won. Besides, think about all the things you have done for Gotham and the countless lives you have saved."

"The point is that you are a symbol of hope for people," Lori said. "The thought of that there are someone out there to conquer the dark side of Gotham, gives hope to people and it lifts their spirits." Lori sighed. "I will tell the police what happened and they will understand. They have to."

Batman frowned at her eager to prove to Gotham that he was innocent. But why bother? He was not innocent and never had he been innocent. When he stepped into his Batsuit, he already knew bad things would happen. He was already guilty in the first place. And nothing would ever erase that feeling.

Suddenly the door to staircase was burst open and several policemen came through the opening, led by Commissioner Gordon. They all quickly pointed their guns at Batman, waiting for orders from Gordon to shoot.

"Wait! Don't shoot!" Lori shouted and jumped in front of them. "You are all doing a big mistake! Batman has not done anything wrong, at least not today!"

"It's true!" Edward said as he also went up in front. "He saved our lives today. If it wasn't for him, that Psycho Clown back there would have killed us both!"

"You little shrimp!" the Joker suddenly yelled and they turned to see that he was awake. "You will pay for this! When I get lose I will kill you both!"

"You understand what I mean by _psycho_?" Edward asked, exchanging glances between Gordon and the Joker. "Batman saved us from that freak."

Gordon stared at him hesitantly. He, himself, knew that they were telling the truth, but what would this truth do to Gotham? _It can't get any worse right now_…

He sighed and rubbed his neck. "Lower your guns," he ordered.

"But Commissioner! This Batman is a criminal and–"

"And what?" Gordon cried back. "Batman is the best thing that has happened to this city for a long time. He deserves another chance. After all, he is our guardian and Gotham is the city where he is needed the most."

Batman was shocked and astonished. He nodded politely. "Thank you, Commissioner. I appreciate your kind words."

"Yes, yes, yes…" The commissioner murmured. "Take the Joker down and put him into the prisoner van. Make sure he is locked away at Arkham Asylum, in a one-man's cell. And also escort Miss Davis and the young man down to the station. We need a full and detailed report from both of them about today's event."

The policemen did as they were told, grabbing the Joker and taking him with them. Lori and Edward stared watched as two policemen escorted them down to the streets where a police car waited.

Gordon walked over to the Batman, with a concerned look on his face. "Are you all right?" Gordon stared intently at Batman.

"I'm fine." Batman nodded. "That was quite a risk you took, Commissioner. Were you certain that your men would believe you and follow your orders?"

"No," Gordon said, looking down on the ground. "But, I always knew that none them actually believed that you were a criminal and a murderer. "And sometimes I just take chances."

Gordon paused.

"I can assure you – I meant every single word of what I said."

"Thank you," Batman said deeply.

Gordon chuckled. "You don't have to thank me. I should be thanking you. You did a good job."

The Batman smiled. "Only my duty," he said serenely as he proceeded to leave, returning to Gotham City as their hero.

* * *

**Please review!**


	36. A New Hope

**A/N:**

_So this is the end, I'm setting you free..._

That was just a joke, but this is really the end of this story. After nearly 2 years of writing (1 year, 11 months and 25 days to be precise) I have finally written the end. I am, if I can say so, kind of proud of myself. That's not because it is a very amazing story, but because I have actually finished a fanfiction that contains so many chapters as this one does. That is why I am proud.

I would just like to say that it has been a pleasure to write a Fanfiction that has been liked by so many nice and wonderful people.  
_Thank you very much._

**This is also my Christmas gift to all of you out there. :) Happy Christmas and New Year!**

* * *

**Chapter 36**

* * *

Edward sighed heavily as he sat in the back of the police car and watched as the darkened scenery flew by in a blur. Lifting his head tiredly he gazed at one of the police men in the front seat, who was looking down at him with a slight glare.

"Where shall we take you?" Someone suddenly asked.

Lifting his head tiredly, Edward gazed at the police man sitting in the passenger seat. He was looking down at Edward with a slight glare.

"Wayne Manor," Edward answered dryly.

Nodding, the policeman cleared his throat and smiled wryly, still staring at the ones in the backseat. When he noticed that Edward was staring back, he turned and sat up straight in his seat.

Edward then looked at Lori who was snuggled in the young man's arms. Her head was lying on his shoulders and she was sleeping. He thought she had a peaceful look on her face, though she was shivering like a leaf in his arms. She had fallen asleep just after they had got inside of the car and driven away from the crime scene and he hadn't bothered waking her up.

The stars were shining bright and everyone was quiet as the police car pulled up in the driveway of Wayne Manor. The policeman got out of the car and politely opened the door for the two of them to get out. Carefully Edward rose, pulling himself away from Lori's sleeping body and got out. He turned around and gently lifted her up. As if it was the most natural thing to do, Lori wrapped her arms around his neck and snuggled her face to his chest. Edward smiled as he looked at her face. Not wanting to wake her up, he asked the policeman to wait for him to come back, telling him that he was just going to carry her inside.

The policeman grunted an irritated 'Okay' and Edward thanked him. With Lori in his arms, he walked up to the huge front door and rung the doorbell. Alfred opened the door.

"Mr. Nashton?" He asked, sounding a bit puzzled, but only until he quickly noticed the girl. "Is that Miss Lori?"

"Yes, it's her," Edward said, suppressing a yawn.

"Oh, my Lord! Are you both ok?" He asked, showing a great amount of concern.

"Yes, we're fine. A bit shocked, but fine. She just fell asleep on the way back. I guess we're both a bit tired." Edward said, shaking his head. "I think I should put her to bed." Alfred held up his hand to stop him.

"It's alright, I'll take her," he offered.

For a second Edward wanted to refuse, but when he saw what looked like a smile appearing on Lori's face he changed his mind. He smoothly handed Lori over to the old butler.

"You should get home, get some sleep. It's been a long, not to mention awful, day for both of you," Alfred advised.

Edward nodded.

"Good night and sleep tight," Alfred said.

"Good night, then," Edward whispered quietly and with that he turned around, quickly making his way down the walkway. The police car was still there in the driveway and he gently slid into the backseat, giving a sign to the policemen that it was okay to drive. The driver started the engine and as the car sped up, Edward glanced back for a moment before the manor disappeared in the darkness.

Alfred closed the front door and carried Lori towards the stairs leading up to her bedroom. He placed her on the bed, tucking her in and putting the lights off. He stood in the doorway, watching her sleep. He hoped she would have no more nightmares tonight.

"Sleep well," he murmured, closing the door behind him.

* * *

The sun was already high in the air and a cool breeze flew through the open windows, kissing Lori's sweet forehead and waking her up. She felt dizzy, almost as if her head was spinning around like a globe. Lori stirred and then slowly opening her eyes, she took in her surroundings seeing that she was in her room. She was about to think of Bruce and about where he had gone to, when she suddenly heard a familiar voice.

"You're finally awake."

She glanced and saw Bruce standing in the doorway. He shuffled over to the bed.

"Good morning, Bruce. What time is it?" She asked, yawning.

"About 2:30 PM," he replied.

"What?" Lori said in surprise. "I've overslept again!"

"Yeah, for a moment I thought you would never wake up again." Bruce grinned. "Don't worry about. You had a tough day, much tougher than people can imagine. It probably did you well."

"Yes, at least I feel much better than I did when Joker held me captive," Lori said sighing. "Thinking about what has happened the last few days, I hope that it will be a long time until I have to face trouble again, mostly not that kind of trouble."

"So do I, but that's another thing I don't want you to worry about. The Joker is behind bars, locked inside one of the most secure cell without anyone getting near him, except the guards – and Batman." Lori looked up at him and he grinned. "I followed the police to Arkham to make sure the psycho got locked in for good."

"That's good to hear," Lori said and she tried to smile, but her eyes showed nothing but sadness. "Even though it makes me feel a bit better, it doesn't change anything. The people he has killed – they are still gone."

Bruce shook his head slowly. "Don't talk like that. Yes, they are still gone, but at the same time the Joker won't be able to kill anyone anymore. No one will die like the way they did, at least not for now."

Lori got a little distraught by what Bruce said to her. She didn't like that Bruce described this time of peace only as temporary. Seeing this, Bruce put his hand over hers and tried to smile at her.

"It's going to be ok, one way or another." He kissed her softly on her forehead. Lori looked up at him.

"Thanks," she whispered quietly. "You're too kind to me."

"Only because I care about you so much," Bruce said smoothly and let go of her hand. "I would have liked to stay with you, but as Bruce Wayne I have work to do and meetings to attend."

"So when you're Batman you're not working, is that so?" Lori grinned.

"Work?" Bruce said in an innocent voice and added a smile. "Batman is my hobby. The beating and the explosions – it's pure pleasure."

"I knew you were a masochist!" She laughed in reply.

"Very funny," he said, amused, as he exited the room.

Lori smiled as she got out of the bed and she walked into the bathroom. After taking shower, she quickly got dressed and went downstairs. She strolled into the kitchen to find Alfred cleaning up and finishing his cup of tea. He instantly stood when he saw her and walked over.

"It is so good to see that you are awake," he said and smiled. "I assume that you are hungry or am I wrong?"

"Thank you, and no, you're not mistaking," she said and grinned as Alfred handed her a warm toast.

"I'm always prepared," he said winking. "What are your plans for today?"

Lori shook her head. "Not much. Right now I just want to forget everything and move on."

"That sounds sensible," Alfred said to her. "As long as we do it together."

"Yeah, I supposed that is the best way of doing it," she said and sighed. "Before I met you and Bruce, I used to believe that you did it best when you didn't harm anyone, when no one except yourself was involved. Therefore I never asked anyone for their help. You and Bruce have proved me wrong."

"Miss Lori, let me tell you a story," Alfred began. "There was once a man who lived together with his three sons. All three of them were hard workers, but the pity of it was that they worked very badly together. Each one of the sons only believed in themselves and when they worked, they rarely helped each other." Alfred paused.

Lori was listening intently.

"Then one day," Alfred continued, "the father held up a branch in front of them and asked them to break it. The sons did as their father said and succeeded. Then the father asked the sons to break two branches at the same time. Each son tried to do this, but no matter how much they tried, they were unable to break the branches. They all understood it now. One branch is easy to break, no matter how strong it is, when it stands alone, but when they are together no one can break them.

"Oh, I also get it now," Lori informed. "And the branches were a metaphor for humans?"

"Exactly! And from that day the sons worked together and cooperated with each other," Alfred said. "As long as we communicate together and live together, nobody can hurt us."

"I wish I had heard that story earlier," Lori smirked. "It's funny, because it was own ego that got me into this mess in the first place. It was my own ego that led me to where I am right now." She let out a sarcastic laugh. "When I helped Batman that one day in the park I thought I knew what I was doing, but apparently I didn't have a single clue."

"If I may say so, then I am glad you did not," Alfred said with a smile. "It was a pleasure to meet a girl like you, to see what kind of joy you have given Bruce and me, and I am proud of you." He chuckled. "I hope you now know that you can ask about help no matter what it is."

* * *

As time passed, February gradually turned into March before moving into April. The grass was becoming greener and the flowers were beginning to bloom. It had been a quiet period for the citizens, but also for Batman. It surprised Lori how little Bruce was out there catching bad-guys, and it felt good. It was like things were improving together with the seasons, as they were now leaving a dark time and getting ready for spring.

To Lori, April was an important, but also a thrilling month. She celebrated her seventeenth birthday. Even though how much she had refused and complained, Bruce had insisted on having a party. He told her it would do her good to meet people again, pointing at the fact she rarely went out. After a long discussion, she had finally agreed, but on one condition and that was that it was not going to be a big party.

Now the day had arrived.

Lori stood in front of the full-length mirror and examined her new silk blue colored dress she critically had put on. It had been given to her by Bruce the other day. The dress was simple, but still elegant. It had short sleeves and the long skirt brushed the top of her high heeled shoes, and it swung with every move she made. She took one last look before swinging herself around. In the doorway she met Bruce, who was dressed in a black tuxedo.

"You look dazzling," he complimented as he walked towards her.

Lori smiled. "Thank you, the dress is lovely." She looked up at him.

"I'm glad you liked it," Bruce said. "It's time to party and have some fun. All of your friends are here."

"All of my friends are here," Lori repeated. "I can't remember me having any friends."

"They are all so happy to be here and I'm sure you'll get along with them," Bruce assured. "It is your birthday."

Lori nodded with a smile.

"Excuse me, Miss Lori and Master Wayne," Alfred suddenly said, entering the room. "The guests are waiting."

Bruce smiled at Lori with a small wink. "Show time," he said as he placed her arm inside of his arm and they walked out of the room.

When they entered the great living room, they were met by many people greeting them and wishing Lori a happy birthday. Wherever she looked she was met by someone's gaze and she swore she didn't know half of the ones who were there.

"Look at you Lori!"

Turning her head, she noticed Edward making his way through the mass.

"Beautiful as a princess!" He laughed as gave her a hug. When they broke apart, he handed her a gift. "Happy Birthday!"

"Oh Edward, thank you so much." Lori smiled politely and put the gift on the nearest table. "I'll save it for later." She gave him a wink.

"Would you care for a dance?" Edward asked, gesturing to the dance floor.

"I–"

"She'd love to," Bruce answered for her and pushed Lori towards Edward.

Edward grinned as he took her hand. Lori glared back at Bruce who was smirking and drinking wine. Edward put his arms around her waist and hesitantly, she locked her hands behind his neck.

Edward snickered. "I like dancing with you, Lori."

"I like dancing with you too," Lori said.

They danced for a few moments. Lori looked up at Edward's smiling face and saw Bruce approaching.

"Mind if I dance with Lori, my friend?" He asked, tapping Edward on the shoulder.

"Okay," Edward answered, a bit reluctantly, before letting go. "I'll see you later, Lori."

Before Lori could say something he was lost in the crowd.

"May I have this dance, Miss Lori?" Bruce asked softly.

"Can we do it later? I need some fresh air," she whispered and let go of his hands. Sighing, she went through the double door leading into the garden. Looking around herself she spotted the just bloomed and beautiful daffodils.

"Is something wrong?"

Lori turned and saw that Bruce had followed her into the garden.

"Everything's fine. The party is amazing, more than I ever imagined. It's great, Bruce." Lori smiled a half smile.

Bruce walked over and wrapped his arms around her. She let her cheek against his shoulder and closed her eyes.

"Bruce, may I ask you a question?"

"You just did," he said with a grin. "Of course you can, about anything…"

"Even though Batman is no longer depicted as a villain, why are you still hiding?" She asked.. He was quiet for a moment.

"I'm not hiding, I'm just cautious," Bruce said hoarsely. "I know you probably think I'm hiding or letting the people down, but I'm doing this because I care about you."

Lori nodded and smiled. "Yes, I know. You've told me that before, but this is not only about me. I'm just one person and outside there are thousands. Batman cannot only shine a light in my life, but he must be there for Gotham. Batman is a hero, a symbol of hope and love. He must bring people hope, hope to live and hope to be loved."

"And who is going to give Batman hope? Give me hope?" Bruce asked, gazing into Lori's eyes. "How can someone give hope when he does not have hope himself? I can only do it when I know where to find it, which is why I have to take care of you. You are my hope."

Lori shook her head, still smiling. "Hope exists everywhere, if you can find it. You should not find it in me, because I am not the kind of hope you need."

Bruce cocked his head at the answer. "So you are not hope, but you still bring me hope that I can save people, that I can do good. Care to explain?"

Lori sighed irritated. "Okay! Let us say that I am hope, but in that case I am an egoistic, stubborn and naive hope, who also tends to have uncontrolled hormones."

"Well, you are right. That is a new version!" Bruce said and let out a laugh.

"Hey, keep teasing the contributor of Hope and you will not see it!" Lori said, ironically.

Bruce smiled. "I like it," he said before he gave her a hug. Bending down, he softly kissed her on the forehead and whispered, "Happy Birthday."

**THE END**

* * *

**Please review.**


End file.
